A 



AN 

AUTHENTIC NARRATIVE 

OF THE LOSS OF THE 

AMERICAN BRIG COMMERCE, /^ 

WRECKED ON THE WESTERN COAST OF AFRICA, IN THE MONTH 
OF AUGUST, 1815, 

WITH 
AN ACCOUNT OF THE SUFFERINGS 

OF THE 

SURVIVING OFFICERS AND CREW, 

WHO WERE ENSLAVED BY THE WANDERING ARABS, ON THE 

AFRICAN DESART, OR ZAHAHRAH ; 

AND 

OBSERVATIONS HISTORICAL, GEOGRAPHICAL, &c. 

MADE DURING THE TRAVELS OF THE AUTHOR, WHILE A SLAVE TO THE 
ARABS, AND IN THE EMPIRE OF MOROCCO. 



BY JAMES jRILEY, & 

HER LATE MASTER AND SUPERCARGO, 

A Member of the New-York Historical Society, and a late Member of tht 
Legislature of the State of Ohio. 



Preceded by a brief sketch of the Author's life; and containing a description of the famous eity 
Tombuctoo, and of another larger city, far south of it, on the same river, called Wasaanuk, 
narrated to the Author at Mogadore, by Sidi Namet, the Arabian merchant 



NEW YORK: 
LEA V ITT AND ALLEN, 

No. 379 BROADWAY. 
1859. 






&mtkern District of New-York, as. 

BE IT REMEMBERED, That on the nineteenth day of January, A. D. 1828, in the 
fifty-second year of the Independence of the United States of America, James Riley, of the 
said District, hath deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims 
as author and proprietor, in the words following, to wit : 

"An Authentic Narrative of the loss of the American Brig Commerce, wrecked on the 
western coast of Africa, in the month of August, 1815, with an account of the sufferings of 
the survi v ing officers and crew, who were enslaved by the wandering Arabs, on the African 
Desart, or Zahahrah ; and observations Historical, Geographical, &c. made during Ihe 
travels of the Author, while a slave to the Arabs, and in the empire of Morocco. By James 
Riley, her late master and supercargo, a member of the New-York Historical Society, and 
a lale member of the Legislature of the state of Ohio ; preceded by a brief sketch of the 
Author's life, and containing a description of the famous city of Tombuctoo, and of another 
larger city, far south of it, on the same river, called Wassanah, narrated to the Author at 
Mogadore, by Sidi Hamet, the Arabian merchant. Illustrated and embellished wuh fen 
copperplate engravings ; revised, and his life continued, by the Author, in January, 16-28." 

In conformity to the Act of Congress of the United States, entitled, " An act for the 
encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the 
Authors and Proprietors of such copies, during the time therein mentioned :" and also to 
an Act, entitled, " an Act, supplementary to an Act, entitled, an Act for the encouragement 
of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the Authors and Proprie- 
tors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned, and extending the benefits thereof 
ia the arts of designing, engraving, end etching historical and other prints." 

FRED. J. BETTS, 
Clerk of ihe Southern District of New- York 






TO THE READER. 



The following Narrative of my misfortunes and sufferings, and my 
consequent travels and observations in Africa, is submitted to the 
perusal of a candid and an enlightened public, with much diffidence, 
particularly as I write without having had the advantages that may be 
derived from an academic education, and being quite unskilled in the 
art of composing for the press. My aim has been merely to record, 
in plain and unvarnished language, scenes in which I was a principal 
actor, of real and heart-appalling distresses. The very deep and in- 
delible impression made on my mind by the extraordinary circum- 
stances attending my late shipwreck, and the miserable captivity of 
myself and my surviving shipmates, and believing that a knowledge 
of many of these incidents might prove useful and interesting to the 
world, as well as peculiarly instructive to my seafaring brethren; toge- 
ther with the strong and repeated solicitations of many of my valuable 
friends, ameng whom was the honourable James Monroe, Secretary 
of State, and several distinguished members of Congress, have in- 
duced me to write and to publish the work. 

The Narrative up to the time of my redemption, was written entire- 
ly from memory, unaided by notes or any journal ; but 1 committed 
the principal facts to writing in Mogadore, when every circumstance 
was fresh in my memory, (which is naturally a retentive one,) and 1 
then compared my own recollections with those of my ransomed com- 
panions : this was done with a view of showing to my friends the 
unparalleled sufferings I had endured, and not for the particular pur- 
pose of making them public by means of the press. It should be 
remembered by the reader, that the occurrences here recorded, took 
place out of the common course of a sailor's life ; and that each par- 
ticular event was of a nature calculated to impress itself so powerfully 
on the mind, as not easily to be effaced. Having previously, in the 
course of my life, visited and travelled through many foreign court- 



IV TO THE READER. 

tries, my mind was by no means unaccustomed to pay attention to, 
and make observations on whatever came within the reach of my 
notice, and for this reason, the strange events of the desart, and the 
novel objects and scenes which I had an opportunity of witnessing in 
the country of the Moors, were not suffered to pass without awakening 
and exercising my curiosity as weU as interest, and becoming the 
subject of careful and habitual reflections. 

Respecting my conversations with the Arabs, I have put dowp 
what I knew at the time to be their exact meaning, as nearly as 1 
could translate their words and signs combined. I had, previously, 
learned the French and Spanish languages, both by grammar and 
practice, and had also been accustomed to hear spoken the Russian 
and different dialects of the German, as well as the Portuguese, 
Italian, and several other languages, so that my ear had become fami- 
liar with their sounds and pronunciation. Perceiving an affinity 
between the Arabian and Spanish, I soon began to learn the names 
of common things, in Arabic, and to compare them in my mind with 
those I had met with in Turkish and other Oriental history. I had 
no hope of ever being redeemed, unless I could make myself under- 
stood, and 1 therefore took the utmost care to treasure up every word 
and sentence I heard spoken by the Arabs, to reflect on their bearing, 
and to find out their true meaning, by which means, in the course of 
a very few days, I was enabled to comprehend the general tenor and 
drift of their ordinary conversation, and to find out the whole meaning 
of their signs and gestures. My four companions, however, could 
scarcely comprehend a single word of Arabic, even after they were 
redeemed. 

In regard to the route, and various courses of our travel, I would 
observe, that after I was purchased by the Arabian merchants, and 
taken off across the desart, I was suffering under the most excrucia- 
ting bodily pains, as well as the most cruel privations ; it will not, 
therefore, be a matter of wonder, if on this vast, smooth, and trackless 
desart, I should have mistaken one eastern course for another, or 
have erred in computing the distances travelled over; for 1 was I've 
quently in such agony and so weighed down with weariness and des- 
pair, that a day seemed to me of endless duration. A long experi- 
ence on the ocean had before taught me to ascertain the latitude by 
the apparent height of the polar star above the horizon, so that in this 
particular, 1 could not be much mistaken ; and the tending of the 



TO THE READER. ¥ 

toast wheie our boat was driven on shore, proves it must have been 
near Cape Barbas. After we approached the seacoast again, I became 
more attentive to the surrounding objects, as my hopes of being ran- 
somed increased, so that not only the courses, but the distances as 1 
nave given them, will agree in all their essential points. 

The designs for the engravings were drawn from my own original 
sketches ; (and they were merely rough sketches, for I have no skill 
in drawing;) they have, however, been executed by artists of con- 
siderable repute, and under my own inspection. 

In compiling the map, particular care has been taken to consult 
the best authorities, but 1 cons dered, at the same time, that the 
information I received from my <=ld Arabian master was sufficiently 
correct, and would warrant me in giving full scope to my consequent 
geographical impressions, in trac ng the river Niger to the Atlantic 
ocean. Admitting that my idea prove hereafter to be just, and that 
this river actually discharges its waters with those of the Congo, into 
the gulf of Guinea, I am of opinion, that not less than one-fourth of 
the whole distance in a straight line, should be added for its bends 
and windings, in order to calculate its real length. 

While I was at Mogadore, a number of singular and interesting 
transactions took place, such as do not often occur even in that coun- 
try ; and a person might reside there for many years, without having 
an opportunity of witnessing a repetition of them; yet their authen- 
ticity, as well as that of the other circumstances I have related, can 
be substantiated by many living witnesses, — men of respectability and 
unquestionable veracity. 

My observations on the currents which have heretofore proved fatal 
to a vast number of vessels, and their crews on the western coast ol 
Africa, are made with a view to promote the further investigation of 
this subject, as well as to caution the unwary mariner against their 
too often disastrous effects. 

It gives me sincere pleasure, to acknowledge the services rendered 
me by my respectable friend, Anthony Bleecker, Esquire, of New- 
York, who has, at my request, looked over the whole of my manu- 
script, and suggested some very important explanations. I have been 
governed, in my corrections, by his advice, which was of a character 
that can only flow from the most pure and disinterested motives. 

With respect to the extraordinary circumstance mentioned in the 
Narrative, of the sudden subsiding of the surf when we were about 



VI TO THE READER. 

committing ourselves to the open sea, in our shattered boat, I am 
aware that it will be the subject of much comment, and, probably, of 
some raillery. 1 was advised by a friend, to suppress this fact, lest 
those who are not disposed to believe in the particular interposition 
of Divine Providence, should make use of it as an argument against 
the correctness of the other parts of my Narrative. This, probably, 
would have been good policy in me, as a mere author, for I am pretty 
sure that previous to this signal mercy, I myself would have enter- 
tained a suspicion of the veracity of a writer who should have related 
what to me would have appeared such an improbable occurrence. 
Sentiments and feelings, however, of a very different kind from any 
that mere worldly interest can excite, forbid me to suppress or deny 
what so clearly appeared to me and my companions at the time, as 
the immediate and merciful act of the Almighty, at the awful moment 
when dismay, despair, and death, were pressing close upon us with 
all their accumulated horrors. My heart still glows with holy grati- 
tude for this mercy, and I will never be ashamed nor afraid to acknow- 
ledge and make known to the world, the infinite goodness of my divine 
Creator and Preserver. " The waters of the sea had well-nigh cover- 
ed us: the proud waves had well-nigh gone over our soul. Then 
cried we unto thee, O Lord, and thou didst deliver us out of our dis- 
tresses. Thou didst send forth thy commandment; and the windy 
Btorm ceased, and turned into a calm." 

JAMES RILEY. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAP. I. 

1 Pag* 

k brief sketch of the Author's life and Education up to the month of 
May, 1815, 15 

CHAP. II. 
•Voyage in the Commerce from Connecticut River to New-Orleans, 18 

CHAP. III. 
Voyage from Gibraltar towards the Cape de Verd Islands, including the 
shipwreck of the brig Commerce, on the coast of Africa, - 21 

CHAP. IV. 
Description of the natives — they make war upon the crew, and drive them 
off to the wreck, ------- 83 

CHAP. V. 
The natives seize the autnor by perfidy, and then get possession of the 
money — the author's critical situation on shore— he escapes to the 
wreck — Antonio Michel is massacred. 28 

CHAP VI. 
Providential preservation through the surf to the open ocean — sufferings 
in their shattered boat nine days at sea — landing again on the frightful 
coast of the African Desart, ----- 82 

CHAP. VII. 
Sufferings of the crew, and manner of climbing over the rocks along the 
seashore, under high cliffs — reaching the surface of the desart— meet- 
ing with a company of wandering Arabs, by whom they are seized as 
slaves, and stripped naked, ....... gf 

CHAP. VIII. 

The author and his crew are carried on camels into the interior of the 
Desart of Zahahrah — the Arabs hold a council — the crew are sold and 
distributed — the author's remarkable dream — the skin and flesh are 
literally roasted off from his body, and from the bones of his compa- 
nions — their dreadful sufferings while naked and wandering about the 
Desart with their masters, subsisting only on a little camels' milk — two 
Arab traders arrive, ------- 4? 

CHAP. IX. 
Two Arabian merchants are persuaded by the author to purchase him and 
four of his suffering companions — they kill a camel and prepare to set 
out for Morocco across the Desart, - - 6'' 

A2 






VU1 CONTENTS. 

CHAP. X. 

Page 
The author aid four of his companions set out to cross the Desart— their 
sufferings— they come to a spring of fresh water— description of its 
singular situation, ....... 68 

CHAP. XI. 
Journeying on the Desart— they are hospitably entertained by Arabs, 
and come to a well of fresh water, - - - 74 

CHAP. XII. 
They arrive amongst immense mountains of driving sand — their extreme 
sufferings — their masters find and steal some barley, and restore it 

again, 77 

CHAP. XIII. 
Continuation of the journey on the Desart — several singular occur- 
rences—they come within sight oT the ocean, - - - 82 

CHAP. XIV. 
They travel along the sea-coast under the high banks — fall in with and 
join a company of Arabs — travel in the night for fear of robbers— Mr. 
Savage faints — is near being massacred, and is rescued by the author, 89 

CHAP. XV. 
Black mountains appear in the east — they come to a river of salt water, 
and to wells of fresh water, where they find many horses— description 
of a singular plant — come to cultivated land ; to a fresh water river, 
and a few scone huts, - - - 93 

CHAP. XVI. 

The company is divided — they set off to the eastward — their masters are 
attacked by a band of robbers, .... 99 

CHAP : XVII. 

Some fresh fish are procured — they pa. c s several small walled villages, 
and meet with robbers on horseback, - - - 101 

CHAP. XVIII. 
Their masters commit an error, which tfiey are compelled to redress — 
Sidi Hamet and his brother Seid figut — Horace's critical situation — 
they come to villages, - ----- 104 

CHAP. XIX. 

The author writes a letter— Sidi Hamet sets out with it for Swearah— 
the arrival of Sheick Ali, an extraordinary character, - - 109 

CHAP. XX. 
A Moor arrives from Mogadore, bringing a letter — the letter — they set 
out for that city, - - - - - - -115 

CHAP. XXI. 
They come near the ruins of a city where two battering machines are 
standing— description of them— story of its destruction — they cross a 
river, and a fruitful country — lodge in a city, and are afterwards stop- 
ped by Sheick Ali and the prince of another city, - - - 120 

CHAP. XXII. 
Rais bel Cossim gains the friendship of the prince— good provisions are 
procured — Sheick Ali's plans miscarry— they set off for, and arrive at 
Santa Cruz, in the empire of Morocco, - ... ISO 



CONTENTS. IX 

CHAP. XXIII. 

Page 
Sheick AH out-manoeuvred again by Rais bel Cossim— they set off in the 
ni«-ht— meet with Sidi Hamet and his brother, accompanied by some 
Moors with mules sent by Mr. Willshire for the sufferers to ride on— 
occurrences on the road— meeting with Mr. Willshire near Swearah or 
Mogadore— they go into that city— are ordered before the Bashaw, 14C 

CHAP. XXIV. 

The author and his companions are cleansed, clothed, and fed— he becomes 
delirious, but is again restored to reason— the kindness of Mr Will- 
shire— letter from "Ho ratio Sprague, Esq. of Gibraltar— author's reflec- 
tio is on his past sufferings, and on the providential chain of events that 
lud fitted him for enduring them, and miraculously supported and 
restored him and his four companions to their liberty, 153 

CHAP. XXV. 

The author's motives for requesting of, and writing down, his former 
master's narrative of Travels on the Desart when in Mogadore, together 
with Sidi Hamet's narrative of a journey across the great Desart to 
Tombuctoo, and back again to Widnoon, with a caravan, 15 

Section I. Sidi Hamet's narrative of a journey from Widnoon across the 
great Desart to Tombuctoo, and back again to Widnoon, - - 16€ 

Section II. Sidi Hamet sets out on another journey for Tombuctoo — the 
caravan is mostly destroyed for want of water, by drifting sand, and by 
mutiny, &c. — the few that escape get to the south of the Desart, - 163 

Section III. Sidi Hamet's journeyings. His arrival on the banks of the 
river called by the natives Gozen-Zair, and at Tombuctoo— description 
of that city — its commerce, wealth, and inhabitants, - - 165 

Section IV. Sidi Hamet sets out for Wassanah— his arrival there, and 
description of that city, the country, and its inhabitants— of the great 
river which runs near it, and of his return to Tombuctoo — containing 
also the author's geographical opinions, founded on the narrative, on 
the sources of the river Niger — its length and outlet into the Atlantic 
ocean, -------- 169 

Section V. Sidi Hamet's journey from Tombuctoo to Morocco by the 
eastern route— his description of the Desart, and of the country on both 
sides of it — of a dreadful battle with the wandering Arabs — Sidi Hamet 
takes his leave and sets out to join his family, - - - 174 

CHAP. XXVI. 

An account of the face of the great African Desart, or Zahahrah— of its 
inhabitants, their customs, manners, dress, &c. — a description of the 
Arabian camel or dromedary, ----- 1*78 

CHAP. XXVII. 

Some account of Suse, or South Barbary, and of its inhabitants, cities, 
&c. — the primitive plough, and mode of using it— primitive churn, 
and method of making butter, - - - - - 19 , 

CHAP. XXVIII. 

Some account Of an insurrection in Morocco — the Bashaw of Swearah is 
seized and put in irons — change of Governors — the Jews are forced to 
pay their trib'ite or turn Mohammedans — their treatment by the Moors 
— a .lew burial — a circumcision — a Jewish priest arrives from Jerusalem 
— the author obtains from him some account of the present Jerusalem . 
and its inhabitants, and of the method pursued by the priests lor getting 



X CONTENTS. 

Pagi 
money from the Jews in Europe and Barbary — a Moorish execution and 
maiming — of the Jews in West Barbary, - 197 

. CHAP. XXIX. 

New orders arrive from the Emperor — Mr. Willshire is grossly insulted 
by the Moors — a description of the city and port of Swearah, or Moga- 
dore, its inhabitants, commerce, manufactures, &c. - - 208 

CHAP. XXX. 
Of the Moors and Moorish Arabs — feast of expiation— A Moorish review 
and sham-fight — horsemanship — of the Arabian horse and his furni- 
ture, ---------214 

CHAP. XXXI. 
The present Arabs and ancient Jews compared, - 221 

CHAP. XXXII. 

The author ships his companions on board a vessel for Gibraltar, and sets 
out himself to travel by land for Tangier — villany of his Jew compa- 
nion — account of a great Moorish saint— description of the country— of 
the towns— of El Ksebbah and Safiy, - 224 

CHAP. XXXIII. 
Continuation of the journey — description of Asbedre — of a flight of 
locusts — of the destroying locust of Africa — Mazagan — Azamore — 
Darlbeda— Fidallah— arrival at Rhabat— of Rhabat, - - 233 

CHAP. XXXIV. 
Description of a horrid show of two venemous serpents — sets out from 
Rhabat — of Sallee, Mamora, Laresch — Spanish missionaries — Moorish 
navy — arrival at Tangier, ------ 244 

CHAP. XXXV. 
Moorish captives— of Tangier and Christian Consuls— passage to Gib ral- 
tar,reception there — embarks for America — observations on Gibraltar — 
passage in the ship Rapid — arrival at New-York — visits his family — 

foes to Washington city, the seat of government, and concludes with 
rief remarks on slavery, ------ 253 

APPENDIX. 
Observations on the winds, currents, &c. in some parts of the Atlantic 
ocean, developing the causes of so many shipwrecks on the western 
coast of Africa — mode pointed out for visiting the famous city of Tom- 
buctoo, on the river Niger, &c -«.-.- 268 



CERTIFICATE. 



Oaf tain James Riley has submitted his Narrative to my perusal, 
and I have read it over with great care and attention. I was his 
second mate on board the Commerce, and one of his unfortunate 
companions through, and a sharer in his dreadful sufferings and cap- 
tivity, on the inhospitable shores and desarts of Africa, and 1 am 
astonished to find with what precision the whole of those incidents are 
related — it recalls to my memory all those dismal occurrences and 
distresses, and 1 do hereby certify, that the Narrative up to the time 
of our separation in Mogadore, contains nothing more than a plain 
statement of facts, and that myself, as well as others of the crew, owe 
our lives, liberties, and restoration to our country, under God, to his 
uncommon exertions, fortitude, intelligence, and perseverance, and 
I hereby request him, as my friend, to publish this my certificate. 

AARON R. SAVAGE. 

Done at New-York, this 1st day of\ 
February, A. D. 1817. > 



LETTERS 



New-York, 29th October, 1817. 

Sir, — The Narrative of Capt. James Riley has excited uncommon 
interest; and as there are some persons, who, ignorant of his excel- 
lent character, doubt the general correctness of his story, and others 
who disbelieve the authenticity of particular parts, J have been urged 
by several respectable gentlemen, who, together with myself, repose 
the utmost confidence in your candour and veracity, and who nave 
been a long time acquainted with the respectability of your standing 
in society, to solicit from you a statement of your sufferings and 
idventures in a similar situation; and I am persuaded, that, indep-sn- 



XU LETTERS. 

dently of the gratification which it will afford, and the information 
which it will convey, there will be a sufficient inducement, when you 
understand that a compliance with this request may render essential 
service to a deserving fellow-citizen, and greatly promote the cause 
of truth. 

I am, very respectfully, your most obedient servant, 

DE WITT CLINTON. 

Captain Judah Paddock. 



Hudson, 25th November, 1817. 

To De Witt Clinton, Esq. Governor of the State of New- York. 

Esteemed Friend, — Thy favour of 29th ult. came to my hands a 
few days since, by a private conveyance. Its contents I notice. . It 
gave me great satisfaction to find Capt. Riley has such friends as the 
Governor of the State, as also many of its most respectable citizens, 
to aid and assist him in his great and worthy undertaking, so far as to 
give currency to it after diligent examination as to its facts. His Nar- 
rative of Shipwreck I have carefully perused the third time through, 
and am ready to say every part of that which came within my know- 
ledge is correct, or substantially so. Were 1 to have told my story 
in my own way, we might have differed in some points, which would 
not have gone to discredit his assertions. 1 was wrecked on the same 
coast, and drank of the same bitter cup of affliction. All our suffer- 
ings were nearly of the same kind. Perhaps no one in our blessed 
land has it in his power to say so much in behalf of this injured man 
as I have ; therefore I should tax myself with ingratitude to be silent, 
more particularly when solicited by so many respectable personages 
that have written me to give an opinion of his work. I say, injured 
man, as doubting the authenticity of the work is an injury which he 
must feel sensibly, being to a great expense, without funds, and not 
likely to be very well remunerated for all his expenses and trouble. I 
have but little personal acquaintance with Capt. Riley ; from that 
little, and from what I learn from those who have long known him, I 
believe him to be a man of strict integrity, and worthy ©f public con- 
fidence. Thee solicits a statement of my sufferings in that inhos- 
pitable clime. 1 would most readily comply with that request, had I 
confidence in my own ability to do justice to the public in the exhi- 
bition of it. It is a long time since the occurrence took place. Hav- 
ing made at the time but few minutes of the important facts, the body 
of it must be from recollection. As Capt. Riley took his notes at thfe 
moment, and being better qualified for the task than myself, I dare 
not venture to write a book on the same ground; but I would permit 
him to affix some observations of mine to his work, as an Appen iix, 
could 1 think it so important for the public good as my friends have 
generally thought, since Riley's Narrative made its appearance. 



.ETTERS. Xlil 



Should thee wish further information from me, I hold myself ready to 
reply to any communication thee wishes to make. 
Thy friend, 

JUDAH PADDOCK. 



New- York, 11th mo. 18, 1817. 

Esteemed Friend, — Recollecting the lively impressions which <fi 
verbal narrative of the sufferings and hardships experienced by thyself 
and Tew on the coast of Africa, produced on my feelings during a 
visit at Hudson last summer, and reflecting also on the information 
thy story embraced relative to the nature and state of the country, and 
of the customs and manners of the Arabs, 1 have wished sincerely 
that an account of those events, and the general results of observations 
made in Africa, drawn up by thyself from thy own notes, might be 
submitted to the public. The civilized world is now looking towards 
that country with increasing interest, and any genuine information 
can hardly fail to be favourably received. I can assure thee that a 
publication of thy Narrative would exceedingly gratify me, as well as 
a number of thy other friends in this city. 1 have been for some time 
well acquainted with Capt. Riley, and believe him to be a man of 
strict integrity, and fully deserving the confidence of the public; but 
as there are some in every community who are more or less incredu- 
lous, with respect to circumstances out of the road of common expe- 
rience, a publication of the occurrences which befel thyself and crew 
on the same soil, and among the same people, would, from the well 
known respectability of thy character, add strength to the testimony 
of Capt. Kiley, and tend to the removal of doubts which some have 
entertained of the credibility of certain parts of his Narrative. 

1 am, with great regard and esteem, thy affectionate friend, 

THOMAS EDDY. 



Hudson, 25th November, 1817. 

Esteemed Friend Thomas Eddy,— Thy favour of 18th inst. was 
handed to me on the 22d, by a gentleman travelling northward : the 
contents noticed. On the subject of my shipwreck on the coast of 
Barbary, I do not think myself adequate to the task of writing a Nar- 
rative of it, to say, such a one as the public might anticipate after 
knowing I had commenced it. It is not a gift lam endowed with, 
taking into view my inability to do justice to the thing, and that Capt. 
KiJey, to whom, in my opinion, imnlicit confidence can be given 



Xiv LETTERS. 

relative to his Narrative, as far as has come within my Knowledge, 
(being both wrecked on the same coast, and our sufferings nearly the 
same,) and from what little opportunity I have had Math him person- 
ally, and the correspondence with him while writing his first edition, 
I think the public may rest assured full confidence may be given to 
his Narrative generally. Many parts could not be expected to have 
come within my notice, which of course I must be silent on. While 
he was writing that Narrative, which interested me very much, I cau- 
tioned him to be very circumspect on every point ; at the same time 
giving him to understand, if injustice was done the thing, he might 
expect some observations on it that might be disagreeable to him. 
His answers were prompt and gentlemanly. In the mean time, before 
the Narrative was made public, 1 took every opportunity to learn his 
character, and always found what I now believe him to be, a man oi 
veracity and strict integrity. If thee and others of my friends should 
think that what I could say more than Capt. Riley has said on the 
subject would be advantageous to the human race, I think I would 
endeavour to gratify those friends and the public, in a brief account 
of our shipwreck and sufferings, &c. to be attached as an Appendix to 
another edition of Capt. Riley's, should another be printed, which he 
may have gratuitously, if he will accept it ; but if the above will 
answer as a confirmation (as far as I know) of his Narrative, it will 
afford me the greater pleasure : otherwise, I will exert myself and 
tell the tale just as it transpired, according to the best of my ability, 
as painful as the task will be. Any communication from thee on this 
or on any other subject, shall be attended to, by 

Thy real friend, 

UDAH PADDOCK. 



NARRATIVE, Ace. 



CHAPTER I. 



A brief sketch of the Author's Life and Education, up to the month oj 
May, 1815. 

1 was born in the town of Middletown, in the state of Connecticut, 
on the 27ih of October, in the year 1777, during the war between 
England and America, which terminated in 1783, with the acknow- 
ledgment by the mother country of the freedom, sovereignty, and 
independence of the thirteen United States. My father, Asher Riley, 
who still lives in the same place, was bred to the farming business, 
and at an early age married my mother, Rebecca Sage, who is also 
yet living. I was their fourth child. Owing to an attack of that 
dangerous disorder, the liver complaint, my father was rendered inca- 
pable of attending to his usual employment for several years, during 
which time, his property, small at first, was entirely expended ; but 
after his recovery, in 1786, he was enabled, by industry and strict 
economy, to support his increasing family in a decent manner. 

It may not be improper here, before I speak of my education, to 
give a general idea of what was then termed a common education in 
Connecticut. This state is divided into counties and towns, and the 
towns into societies ; in each of which societies, the inhabitants, by 
common consent, and at their common expense, erect a school-house, 
in which to educate their children. If the society is too large for 
only one school, it is again subdivided into districts, and each district 
erects a school-house Tor its own accommodation. This is generally 
done by a tax levied by themselves, and apportioned according to the 
property or capacity of each individual. It being for the general 
good, all cheerfully pay their apportionment. Thus prepared, they 
hire a teacher to instruct their children in reading and writing, and 
some of them are taught the fundamental rules of arithmetic. They, 
for the most part, hire a male teacher for four months in the year, say 
from October to March, and his compensation (at the time I am 
speaking of) was from six to ten dollars a month, with his board. In 
order to obtain his board, he was under the necessity of going to 
each of nis employers' houses in rotation, making his time in each 
family as equal as possible, and in proportion to the number of chil- 
dren therein. In this way all the parents became acquainted with the 
master or mistress. In the summer one of the best informed girls in 
the neighbourhood was selected to teach the youngest children. To 
flatrv, the expense arising from this system, a tax was laid, and every 



16 

man, whether married or unmarried, with children or without them, 
was obliged to pay the sum at which he was rated, and in this man- 
ner every one contributed for the good of the whole. In each socie- 
ty, one or more meeting-houses were established, whose congrega- 
tions were either Presbyterians or Congregationalists, and a minister 
(as he is called) regularly ordained and located for a yearly stipend or 
salary, and generally during life. This was an oIJ and steady habit. 
The minister was considersd as the head of the school, as well as ot 
the meeting, and his like or dislike was equivalent to a law. All the 
children in each district, whether rich or poor, went to this school : all 
had an equal right to this kind of country education. To one oi 
these district schools I was sent at the age of four years, where I 
continued, learning to spell and read, until I was eight years old, 
when my father's family had increased to seven or eight children, 
with a fair prospect of more, (it afterwards amounted to thirteen in 
number.) 

Finding it difficult to support us all as he wished, and I having 
become a stout boy of my age, he placed me with a neighbouring 
farmer to earn my living, by assisting him in his work. 1 rom the 
age of eight to fourteen years I worked on the land with different 
farmers in our neighbourhood, who having received but a very scanty 
education themselves, conceited, nevertheless, that they were over- 
stocked with learning, as is generally the case with the most ignorant, 
and in this, their fancied wisdom, concluded that much less than they 
themselves possessed would answer my purpose, as I was but a poor 
boy!! Finding therefore that they would lose my labour during 
school hours, (for they had always taken great care to keep me fully 
employed in hard drudgery every moment I was out of school, 
scarcely allowing me the usual hours of refreshment and sleep,) they 
kept me from school, merely because, as they stated, they could not 
get along with their work without my help. When my parents remon- 
strated against such conduct in those who had come under a most 
solemn agreement to give me a plenty of schooling, they were assured 
"that I was a very forward boy ; that 1 could spell and read as well 
as any of the boys of my age; that I could repeat whole chapters in 
the Bible by heart, and knew all the Catechism and Creed, viz. the 
Presbyterian, which then was, and still is considered, all important in 
that section of the union called New-England : that I could sing 
psalms in the separate meetings full as well as those who had learned 
to sing by note; though indeed he cannot write, (said they) because 
be has no turn for writing." These representations tended in some 
measure to allay the anxiety of my parents, who wished me above all 
things to have a good common country education, as they at that 
time had no prospect of being able to give me any thing better. 
They had taught me, both by precept and practice, that to be honest, 
industrious, and prudent; to govern my passions, (which were violent,) 
to feel for and relieve the distresses of others when in my power; to 
be mild and affable in my manners, and virtuous in all my actions, 
was to be happy ; and they, generally, had instilled into my youthful 
mind every good principle. 

I had now attained my fifteenth year ; was tall and stout for my 
age; and having become tired of hard work on the land, 1 concluded 



OF HIS OWN LIFE. 17 

that the best way to get rid of it, was to go to sea and visit foreign 
countries. My parents endeavoured to dissuade me from this pro- 
ject, and wished me to learn some mechanical trade ; but finding that 
I could not fix my mind upon any other business, they, with great 
reluctance, consented to my choice ; and I, accordingly, shipped on 
board a sloop bound to the West-Indies. Having no friend to 
pusn me forward, no dependence but on my own good conduct and 
exertions, and being ambitious to gain some distinction in the pro- 
fession 1 had chosen, I contrived to acquire some knowledge in the 
art of navigation, theoretically as well as practically, and at the age of 
twenty years had passed through the grades of cabin boy, cook, ordi- 
nary seaman, seaman, second mate, and chief mate, on board different 
vessels. I was now six feet and one inch in height, and proportion- 
ably strong and athletic, when finding the sphere I then moved in to 
be too limited for my views and wishes, (it extending only from Con- 
necticut river or New-Lonuon to the West-Indies, and back again,) 
1 went to New-York, where I was soon appointed to the command of 
a good vessel, and since that time have continued in similar employ- 
ment ; making voyages in all climates usually visited by American 
snips; traversing almost every sea, and travelling by land through 
many of the principal states and empires of the world. For several 
years Iliad charge of the cargoes as well as off the vessels I sailed in, 
and had a fair share of prosperity, until the month of January, 1808, 
when my ship, the Two Marys of New-York, was seized by the 
French, as I took shelter in Belle Isle, in the Bay of Biscay, from 
some English men of war, being bound for Nantz ; and the ship, with 
her valuable cargo, was confiscated, under the memorable Milan 
Decree of the 17th December, 1807, founded on the well known 
Orders in Council, of the 11th November, of the same year. I 
remained in France until the ship and cargo were condemned, and 
did not return to my native country and family, till the latter part of 
the year 1809, with the loss, it is true, of nearly all the property I 
had before acquired, but wiser than I went out ; for I had learned to 
read, write, and speak both the French and Spanjgh languages ; had 
travelled pretty much all o' er France, where 1 had opportunities of 
witnessing many important operations in the science of war, calcu- 
lated to attract my attention to the principles upon which they were 
founded; and I, at the same time, took lessons in the school of adver 
sity, which tended to prepare and discipline my mind for the future 
hardships I was destined to undergo. 1 now strove with all my 
power to stem the tide of misfortune, which began to set in against 
me with impetuous force. I had become a husband, and the father 
of four children, who looked up to me for support, and I strained 
every nerve to retrieve my lost fortune, by trading to sea : but it was 
of no avail ; every thing proved adverse, and after an absence of two 
years to Spain, Portugal, the Brazils. Rio de la Plata, or River of 
Silver, in South-America, the West-Indies, New-Orleans, &c. I 
returned home atthe commencement of the late war (1812) pennyless. 
Unarmed commerce on the ocean, my element, was at an end in an 
honourable way, and I could not obtain a station I wished for in the 
navy, nor could I obtain the command of a private armed vessel that 
suited mv views, owing to the want of funds ; nor would 1 accept of 



18 CAPTAIN RILEY's NARRATIVE 

the command of a vessel and the consignment of a cargo navigated 
contrary to the laws of war, under foreign licenses: this I considered 
would derogate from the character 1 always wished to support, that 
of a true friend to my country, (whether in prosperity or adversity,) 
and a firm supporter of its laws and institutions, which I had proved 
by long experience in the ways of the world to be as good (at least) 
as those of any country under heaven. Though the*brTers that were 
made me were great and tempting, so that my acceptance of them 
could scarcely have failed of producing me a handsome fortune, and 
that in a very short period, yet I remained at home during the whole 
war, making use of all my faculties to gain a decent subsistence for 
my family. Soon after the burning of the Capitol and other public 
and private buildings at the seat of government, by the enemy, in 
August, 1814, when their commanders loudly threatened to destroy 
every assailable place on the seaboard, 1 believed that the time was 
near when every arm would be required for the general defence, par- 
ticularly at the exposed seaport towns ; and having enrolled myself 
in a volunteer company of military exempt artillerists, composed 
chiefly of masters and mates of vessels, and seamen, I had the honour 
of being chosen their captain. But our services were not needed in 
the field. 



CHAPTER II. 

Voyage in the Commerce from Connecticut River to New- Orleans. 

After the close of the war, in April, 1815, being then in my native 
state, I was employed as master and supercargo of the brig Com- 
merce of Hartford, in Connecticut: a vessel nearly new, and well 
fitted, of about two hundred and twenty tons burden, belonging to 
Messrs. Riley and Brown, Josiah Savage and Co. and Luther Savage, 
of that city. A light cargo was taken on board, and I shipped a crew, 
consisting of the following persons, namely ; George Williams, chief 
mate, Aaron R. Savage, second mate, William rorter, Archibald 
Robbins,' Thomas Burns, and James Clark, seaman; James Carring- 
ton and Francis Bliss, ordinary seaman; Horace Savage, cabin boy, 
and Richard Deslisle, (a black man) cook. 

With this crew I proceeded to sea from the mouth of Connecticut 
river, on the sixth day of May, 1815, bound for New-Orleans. We 
continued to steer for the Bahama Islands, as winds and weather per- 
mitted, until the twentieth of the same month, when we saw the 
southernmost part of the island of Abaco, and passing the Hole in the 
Wall, on the twenty- first, entered on the Grand Bahama Bank to the 
leeward of the northernmost Berri Islands ; from thence, with a fair 
wind and good breeze, we steered W. S. W. twelve leagues ; then 
S. S. W. about forty leagues, crossing the Bank, in from three to 
four fathoms water. On the morning of the twenty-second we saw 
the Orange Key on our starboard beam; altered our course, and ran 
off the Bank, leaving them on our starboard hand distant one league. 
The water on this Great Bank, in most places, appears as white -^ 
milk, owing to the white sand at the bottom gle-ming through it. at. * 



VOYAGE IN THE COMMERCE. 19 

is so clear that an object, the size of a dollar, can be easily seen lying 
on the bottom in four fathom water, in a still time. Having got on 
the Bank, we steered W. S. W. for the Double-headed Shot Bank, 
and at meridian found ourselves, by good observations, in the latitude 
of 24. 30. being nearly that of the Orange Keys. In the afternoon it 
became nearly calm, but a good breeze springing up, we continued 
our course all night W. S. W. I remained on deck myself, on a 
sharp look out for the Double-headed Shot Bank, or Keys, until four 
o'clock, A. M. whenjudging by our distance we must be far past them, 
and consequently clear of that danger, I ordered the chief mate, 
who had charge of the watch, to keep a good look out, on all sides, 
for land, white Avater, and breakers ; and after repeating the same to 
the people, I went below to take a nap. At about five (then fair day- 
lignt) I was awakened by a shock, and thought I felt the vessel touch 
bottom. I sprang on deck, put the helm to starboard, had all 
hands called in an instant, and saw breakers ahead and to southward, 
close on board ; apparently a sound on our right, and land to the 
northward, at about two leagues distance. The vessel's head was 
towards the S. W. and she running at the rate often miles the hour. 
I instantly seized the helm, put it hard to port, ordered all sails to be 
let run, and the anchors cleared away. The vessel touched lightly, 
three or four times: when I found she was over the reef, let go an 
anchor, which brought her up in two and a half fathoms, or fifteen 
feet of water, which was quite smooth. We now handed all the sails, 
and lowered down the boat. I went in'herwilh four hands, and 
sounded out a passage; found plenty of water to leeward of the reef, 
returned and got under way, and at seven o'clock, A. M. was in the 
open sea again, with a fresh breeze. 

This being the first time, in the course of my navigating, that any 
vessel which I was in had struck the bottom unexpectedly, I own I 
was so much surprised and shocked, that my whole frame trembled, 
and I could scarcely believe that what had happened was really true, 
until by comparing the causes and effects of the currents of the Gulf 
Stream, I was convinced that during the light winds, the day before, 
when in the Santarem channel, the vessel had been drifted by the cur- 
rent that runs N. N. W. (and at that time very strong) so far north of 
the Double-headed Shot Bank; that my course in the night, though 
the only proper one I could have steered, was such as kept the cur- 
rent on the larboard bow of the vessel, which had horsed her across 
it sixty miles out of her course in sixteen hours, and would have 
landed her on the S. W. part of the Carysford' Reef in two minutes 
more, where she must have been totally lost. As so many vessels of 
all nations who navigate this stream have perished with their cargoes, 
and oftentimes their crews, 1 mention this incident to warn the navi- 
gator of the danger he is in when his vessel is acted upon by these 
currents, where no calculation can be depended upon, and where 
nothing but very frequent castings of the lead, and a good look out, 
can secure him from their too often fatal consequences. 

Having settled this point in my own mind, I became tranquil am 
we continued to run along the Florida Keys from VV. S. VV. to c Vee 
by South, in from thirty to forty fathoms water, about four le gufl 



20 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

distant, seeing from one to two leagues within us many rocks and lit- 
tle sandy islands, just above the water's edge, with a good depth of 
water all around them, until noon on the 24th, when we doubled the * 
dry Tortugas 1. lands in ten fathoms, and on the 26th arrived in the 
Mississippi river, passed Fort St. Philip at riuquemines the same 
night, having shown my papers to the commanding officer of that 
post (as is customary.) 

My previous knowledge of the river and the manner of getting up 
it, enabled me to pass nearly one hundred sail of vessels that were in 
before me, and by dint of great and continued exertions, to arrive 
with my vessel before the city of New-Orleans, on the first day of 
June. Here Ave discharged our cargo, and took another on board, 
principally on freight, in which I was assiste 1 by Messrs. Talcott and 
Bowers, respectable merchants in that city. This cargo consisted of 
tobacco and flour. The two ordinary seamen, Francis Bliss and 
James Carrington, now wished for a discharge, and received it. I 
then shipped in their stead John Hogan and James Barrett, both sea- 
men and natives of the state of Massachusetts. 

With this crew and cargo we sailed from New-Orleans on the 
twenty-fourth of June ; left the river on the twenty-sixth, and proceed 
ed for Gibraltar, where we arrived on the ninth of August following, 
and landed our cargo. About the thirteenth the schooner Louisa, 
Capt. Peter Price, of and from New-York, in a short passage, came 
into the Bay, and the captain on his landing told me he was bound 
up to Barcelona, and that if I would go on board his vessel, which 
was then standing off and on in the Bay, he would give me a late 
New- York Price'Current, and some newspapers. I was in great 
want of a Price Current for my guide in making purchases, and 
accordingly went on board. The wind blowing strong in, and the 
vessel far out, I had to take four men with me, namely, James Clark, 
James Barrett, William Porter, and John Hogan. Having received 
the Price Current, &c. I left the schooner about sunset, when they 
immediately filled her sails and stood on. As we were busied in 
stepping the boat's mast to sail back, a toppling sea struck her, and 
nearly rilled her with water ; we all jumped instantly overboard, in 
the hope of preventing her from filling, but she filled immediately. 
Providentially the captain of the schooner heard me halloo, though 
at least a mile from us ; put his vessel about, came near us, sent his 
boat, and saved our lives and our boat, which being cleared of water, 
and it being after dark, we returned safe along side of the brig by ten 
o'clock at night. When the boat filled, we were more than three 
miles from the Rock, in the Gut, where the current would have set 
us into the Mediterranean, and we must have inevitably perished 
before morning ; but we were spared, in order to suffer a severer doom, 
and miseries worse than death, on the barbarous shores of Africa. 

We now took on board part of a cargo of brandies and wines, and 
some dollars, say about two thousand, and an old man named Antonio 
Michel, a native of New-Orleans, who had previously been wrecked 
on the island of Teneriffe, and was recommended to my charity by 
Mr. Gavino, who at that time exercised the functions of American 
Consul at GibraHar. 



VOYAGE IN THE COMMERCE. 2V 



CHAPTER III. 

Voyage from Gibraltar towards the Cape de Verd Islands, including 
the shipwreck of the brig Commerce on the coast of Africa. 

We set sail from the bay of Gibraltar on the 23d of August, 1815, 
intending to go by way of the Cape de Verd Islands, to complete the 
lading of the vessel with salt. We passed Cape Spartel on the 
morning of the 24th, giving it a birth of from ten to twelve leagues, 
ar-:d steered off to the W. S. W. I intended to make the Canary 
Islands, and pass between Teneriffe and Palma, having a fair wind ; 
but it being very thick and foggy weather, though we got two obser- 
vations at noon, neither could be much depended upon. On account 
of the fog, we saw no land, and found, by good meridian altitudes on 
the twenty-eighth, that we were in the latitude of 27. 30. N. having 
differed our latitude by the force of current, one hundred and twenty 
miles ; thus passing the Canaries without seeing any of them. I con- 
cluded we must have passed through the intended passage without 
discovering the land on either side, particularly as it was in the night, 
which was very dark, and black as pitch ; nor could I believe other- 
wise from having had a fair wind all the way, and having steered one 
course ever since we took our departure from Cape Spartel. Soon 
after we got an observation on the 28th, it became as thick as ever, 
and the darkness seemed (if possible) to increase. Towards evening 
I got up my reckoning, and examined it all over, to be sure that I had 
committed no error, and caused the mates to do the same with theirs. 
Having thus ascertained that I was correct in calculation, 1 alter 
ed our course to S. W. which ought to have carried us nearly on the 
course I wished to steer, that is, for the easternmost of the Cape de 
Verds ; but finding the weather becoming more foggy towards night, 
it being so thick that we could scarcely see the end of the jib-boom, 
I rounded the vessel to, and sounded with one hundred and twenty 
fathoms of line, but found no bottom, and continued on our course, 
still reflecting on what should be the cause of our not seeing land, 
(as I never had passed near the Canaries before without seeing them, 
even in thick weather or in the night.) I came to a determination to 
haul off to the N. W. by the wind at ten P. M. as I should then be 
by the log only thirty miles north of Cape Bajador. I concluded on 
this at nine, and thought my fears had never before so much prevailed 
over my judgment and my reckoning. 1 ordered the light sails to be 
handed, and the steering sail booms to be rigged in snug, which was 
done as fast as it could be by one watch, under the immediate direc- 
tion of Mr. Savage. 

We had just got the men stationed at the braces for hauling off, as the 
man at helm cried "ten o'clock." Our try-sail boom was on the star- 
board side, but ready for jibing ; the helm was put to port, dreaming 
of no danger near. I had been on deck all the evening myself; the 
vessel was running at the rate of nine or ten knots with a very strong 
breeze, and high sea, when the main boom was jibed over, and 1 at 
\hat instant heard a roaring ; the yards were braced up — all hands were 
tailed. I imagined at first it was a squall, and was near ordering the 



22 CAPTAIN RILEY 1 S NARRATIVE. £ 

sails to be lowered down ; but I then discovered breakers foaming at 
a most dreadful rate under our lee. Hope for a moment flattered me 
that we could fetch off still, as there were no breakers in view ahead : 
the anchors were made ready ; but these hopes vanished in an instant v 
as the vessel was carried by a current and a sea directly towards the 
breakers, and she struck! We let go the best bower anchor; all sails 
were taken in as fast as possible : surge after surge came thundering 
on, and drove her in spite of anchors, partly with" her. head on shore. 
She struck with such violence as to start every man from the deck. 
Knowing there was no possibility of saving her, and that she must 
very soon bilge and fill with water, I ordered all the provisions we 
could get at to be brought on deck, in hopes of saving some, and as 
much water to be drawn from the large casks as possible. We started 
several quarter casks of wine, and filled them with water. Every 
man worked as if his life depended upon his present exertions; all 
were obedient to every order I gave, and seemed perfectly calm. The 
vessel was stout and high, as she was only in ballast trim : the sea 
combed over her stern and swept her decks ; but we managed to get 
the small boat in on deck, to sling her and keep her from staving. 
We cut away the bulwark on the larboard side so as to prevent the 
boats from staving when we should get them out ; cleared away the 
longboat and hung her in tackles, the vessel continuing to strike very 
heavy, and filling fast. We however, had secured five or six barrels 
of water, and as many of wine, — three barrels of bread, and three or 
four of salted provisions. I had as yet been so busily employed, that 
no pains had been taken to ascertain what distance we were from the 
land, nor had any of us yet seen it ; and in the mean time all the 
clothing, chests, trunks, &c. were got up, and the books, charts, and 
sea instruments, were stowed in them, in the hope of their being use- 
ful to us in future. 

The vessel being now nearly full of water, the surf making a fair 
breach over her, and fearing she would go to pieces, I prepared a rope, 
and put it in the small boat, having got a glimpse of the shore, at no 
great distance, and taking Porter with me, we were lowered down on 
the larboard or lee side of the vessel, where she broke the violence oi 
the sea, and made it comparatively smooth ; we shoved off, but on 
clearing away from the bow of the vessel, the boat was overwhelmed 
with a surf, and we were plunged into the foaming surges : we were 
driven along by the current, aided by what seamen call the undertow, 
(or recoil of the sea) to the distance of three hundred yards to the 
westward, covered nearly all the time by the billows, which, following 
each other in quick succession, scarcely gave us time to catch a breath 
before we were again literally swallowed by them, till at length we 
were thrown, together with our boat, upon a sandy beach. After 
taking breath a little, and ridding our stomachs of the salt water that 
had forced its way into them, my first care was to turn the water out 
of the boat, and haul her up out of the reach of the surf. We found 
the rope that was made fast to her still remaining ; this we carried up 
along the beach, directly to leeward of the wreck, where we fastened 
it to sticks about the thickness of handspikes, that had drifted on the 
shore from the vessel, and which we drove into the sand by the help 
of other pieces of wood. Before leaving the vessel, 1 had directed 



WRECK OF THE COMMERCE. 23 

that all the chests, trunks, and every thing that would float, should be 
hove overboard: this all hands were busied in doing. The vessel 
lay about one hundred fathoms from the beach, at high tide. In 
order to save the crew, a hawser was made fast to the rope we had on 
shore, one end of which we hauled to us, and made it fast to a num- 
ber of sticks we had driven into the sand for the purpose. It was 
then tautened on board the wreck, and made fast. This being done, 
the long boat (in order to save the provisions already in her) was 
lowered down, and two hands steadied her by ropes fastened to the 
rings in her stem and' stern posts over the hawser, so as to slide, 
keeping her bow to the surf. In this manner they reached the beach, 
carried on the top of a heavy wave. The boat was stove by the vio- 
lence of the shock against the beach ; but by great exertions we saved 
Whe three barrels of bread in her before they were much damaged ; 
and two barrels of salted provisions were also saved. We were now, 
four of us, on shore, and busied in picking up the clothing and other 
things which drifted from the vessel, and carrying them up out of the 
surf. It was by this time daylight, and high water ; the vessel ca- 
reened deep off shore, and I made signs to have the masts cut away, 
in the hope of easing her, that she mignt not go to pieces. They were 
accordingly cut away, and fell on her starboard side, making a bet- 
ter lee for a boat along side the wreck, as they projected considerably 
beyond her bows. The masts and rigging being gone, the sea break- 
ing very high over the wreck, and nothing lefttoliold on by, the mates 
and six men stilJ on board, though secured, as well as they could be, 
on the bowsprit and in the larboard fore-channels, were yet in immi- 
nent danger of being washed off by every surge. The long boat was 
stove, and it being impossible for the small one to live, my great ob- 
ject was now to save the lives of the crew by means of the hawser. I 
therefore made signs to them to come, one by one, on the hawser, 
which had been stretched taut for that purpose. John Hogan ventur- 
ed first, and having pulled off his jacket, took to the hawser, and 
made for. the shore. When he had got clear of the immediate >ee ot 
the wreck, every surf buried him, combing many feet above his head ; 
but he still hejd fast to the rope with a death-like grasp, and as soon 
as the surf was passed, proceeded on towards the shore, until another 
surf, more powerful than the former, unclenched his hands, and threw 
him within our reach ; when we laid hold of him and dragged him to 
the beach ; we then rolled him on the sand, until he discharged the 
salt water from his stomach, and revived. I kept in the water up to 
my chin, steadying myself by the hawser, while the surf passed over me, 
to catch the others as they approached, and thus, with the assistance 
of those already on shore, was enabled to save all the rest from a wa- 
tery grave. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Description of the natives.— They make war upon the crew, and driv* 
them off to the wreck. 
All nands being no\i landed, our first care was to secure the pit>> 
fisions and water which -ri had so far saved, knowinz it was a bar- 

B 



24 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

ren thirsty land ; and we carried the provisions up fifty yards from the 
water's edge, where we placed them, and then formed a kind of a lent 
by means of our oars and two steering sails. I had fondly hoped we 
should not be discovered by any human beings on this inhospitable 
shore, but that we should be able to repair our boats, with the mate- 
rials we might get from the wreck, and by taking advantage of a 
smooth time, (if we should be favoured with one,) put to sea, where 
by the help of a compass and other instruments which we had saved, 
we might possibly find some friendly vessel to save our lives, or reach 
some of the European settlements down the coast, or the Cape de 
Verd Islands. 

Being thus employed, we saw a human figure approach our stuff 
such as clothing, which lay scattered along the beach for a mile west- 
ward of us. It was a man ! He began plundering our clothing. 1 ( 
went towards him with all the signs of peace and friendship I could 
make, but he was extremely shy, and made signs to me to keep my 
distance, while he all the time seemed intent on plunder. He was 
unarmed, and I continued to approach him until within ten yards. 

He appeared to be about five feet seven or eight inches high, and 
of a complexion between that of an American Indian and negro. He 
had about him, to cover his nakedness, a piece of coarse woolen cloth, 
that reached from below his breast nearly to his knees ; his hair was 
long and bushy, resembling a pitch mop, sticking out every way six 
or eight inches from his head; his face resembled that of an ourang- 
outang more than a human being ; his eyes were red and fiery ; his 
mouth, which stretched nearly from ear to ear, was well lined with 
sound teeth; and a long curling beard, which depended from his 
upper lip and chin down upon his breast, gave him altogether a most 
horrid appearance, and I could not but imagine that those well set 
teeth were sharpened for the purpose of devouring human flesh! ! 
particularly as I conceived 1 had before seen in different arts of the 
world, the human face and form in its most hideous and teivific shape. 
He appeared to be very old, yet fierce and vigorous ; he was soon 
joined by two old women of similar appearance, whom I took to be 
nis wives. These looked a little less frightful, though their two eye- 
teeth stuck out like hogs' tusks, and their tanned skins hung in loose 
plaits on their faces and breasts ; but their hair was long and braided. 
A girl of from eighteen to twenty, who was not ugly, and five or six 
children of different ages and sexes, from six to sixteen years, were 
also in company. These were entirely naked. They brought wilh 
them agood English hammer, with a rope-laniard through a liole in its 
handle. It had, no doubt, belonged to some vessel wrecked on that 
coast. They had also a kind of axe with them, and some long knives 
slung on their right sides, in a sheath suspended by their necks. 
They now felt themselves strong, and commenced a bold and indis- 
criminate plundering of every thing they wanted. They broke open 
trunks, chests, and boxes, and emptied them of their contents, carry- 
ing the clothing on their backs upon the sand hills, where they spread 
them out to dry. They emptied the beds of their contents, wanting 
only the cloth, and were much amused with the flying of the feathers 
before the wind from my bed. It appeared as though they had never 
before seen such things. 



WRECK OP THE COMMERCE. 25 

I had an adventure of silk laced veils and silk handkerchiefs, the 
former of which the man, woman, and children tied rounJ their heads 
in the form of turbans; the latter round their legs and arms, thoug v 
only for a short time, when they took them off again, and stowed them 
away among the other clothing on the sand hills. They all seemed 
highly delighted with their good fortune, and even the old man's fea- 
tures began to relax a little, as he met with no resistance. We had 
no fire or side arms, but we could easily have driven these creatures 
off with handspikes, had I not considered that we had no possible 
means of escaping either by land or water, and had no reason to doubt 
but they would call others to their assistance, and in revenge destroy 
us. I used all the arguments in my power to induce my men to 
endeavour to conciliate the friendship of these natives, but it was 
with the greatest difficulty I could restrain some of them from rush- 
ing on the savages and putting them to death, if they could have come 
up with them ; but I found they could run like the wind, whilst we 
could with difficulty move in the deep sand. Such an act I conceiv- 
ed would cost us our lives, as soon as we should be overpowered by 
numbers, and I therefore permitted them to take what pleased them 
best, without making any resistance ; except our bread and provi- 
sions, which, as we could not subsist without them, I was determined 
to defend to the last extremity. On our first reaching the shore I 
allowed my mates and people to share among themselves one thou- 
sand Spanish dollars, for I had hauled my trunk on shore by a rope, 
with my money in it, which I was induced to do in the hope of its 
being useful to them in procuring a release from this country in case 
we should be separated, and in aiding them to reach their homes. 
We had rolled up the casks of water and wine which had been thrown 
overboard and drifted ashore. I was now determined to mend the 
long boat, as soon and as well as possible, in order to have a retreat 
in my power, (or at least the hope of one,) in case of the last neces- 
sity. The wind lulled a little in the afternoon, at low water, when 
William Porter succeeded in reaching the wreck, and procured a few 
nails and a marline spike ; with these he got safe back to the shore. 
I found the timbers of the boat in so crazy a state, and the nails which 
held them together, so eaten off by the rust, that she would not hold 
together, nor support her weight in turning her up in order to get at 
her bottom. I tacked her timbers together, however, as well as 1 
could, which was very imperfectly, as I had bad tools to work with, 
and my crew, now unrestrained by my authority, having broached a 
cask of wine, and taken copious draughts of it, in order to dispel their 
sorrows, were most of them in such a state, that instead of assisting 
me, they tended to increase my embarrassment. We, however, at 
last, got the boat turned up, and found that one whole plank was out 
on each side, and very much split. I tacked the pieces in, assisted 
by Mr. Savage, Horace, and one or two more. We chinced a little 
oakum into the seams and splits with our knives, as well as we could, 
and worked upon her until it was quite dark. I had kept sentinels 
walking with handspikes, to guard the tent and provisions during 
this time, but the Arabs had managed to rob us of one of our sails 
from the tent, and to carry it off, and'not content with this, they tried 
t^ get the other in the same way. This 1 would not permit them to 



26 

do. They then showed their hatchets and their arms, but finding it 
of no effect, they retired for the night, after promising, as near as I 
could understand them, that they would not molest us further till 
morning, when they would bring camels down with them. We had 
previously seen a great many camel tracks in the sand, and I of course 
believed there were some near. One of the children had furnished us 
with fhe, which enabled us to roast a fowl that had be^fj drowned, and 
driven on shore from the wreck, on which, with some salt pork, and 
a little bread and butter, we made a hearty meal, little thinking that 
this was to be the last of our provisions we should be permitted to 
enjoy. A watch was set of two men, who were to walk guard at a 
distance from the tent, to give an alarm incase of the approach of the 
natives, and keep burning a guard fire. This we were enabled to do 
by cutting up some spars we found on the beach, and which must 
have belonged to some vessel wrecked there before us. 

Night had now spread her sable mantle over the face of nature, the 
savages had retired, and all was still, except the restless and unwea- 
ried waves, which dashed against the deserted wreck, and tumbled 
among the broken rocks a little to the eastward of us, where the 
high perpendicular cliffs, jutting out into the sea, opposed a barrier 
to their violence, and threatened, at the same time, inevitable and 
certain destruction to every ill fated vessel and her crew that should, 
unfortunately, approach too near their immoveable foundations : these 
we had escaped only by a few rods. From the time the vessel struck 
to this moment, I had been so entirely engaged by the laborious 
exertions which our critical situation demanded, that I had no time 
for reflection, but it now rushed like a torrent over my mind, and 
banished from my eyes that sleep which my fatigued frame so much 
required. I knew I was on a barren and inhospitable coast ; a tem- 
pestuous ocean lay before me, whose bosom was continually tossed 
and agitated by wild and furious winds, blowing directly on shore ; 
no vessel or boat sufficient for our escape, as I thought it impossible 
for our shattered long boat to live at sea, even if we should succeed 
in urging her through the tremendous surges that broke upon the shore 
with such violence as to make the whole coast tremble ; behind us 
were savage beings, bearing the human form indeed, but in its most 
terrific appearance, whose object I knew, from what had already 

fassed, would be to rob us of our last resource, our provisions ; and 
did not doubt, but they would be sufficiently strong in the morning, 
not only to accomplish what they meditated, but to take our Jives 
also, or to seize upon our persons, and doom us to slavery, till death 
should rid us of our miseries. 

This was the first time I had ever suffered shipwreck. I had left 
a wife and five young children behind me, on whom I doated, and 
who depended on me entirely for their subsistence. My children 
would have no father's, and perhaps no mothers care, to direct them 
in the paths of virtue, to instruct their ripening years, or to watch 
over them, and administer the balm of comfort and consolation in 
time of sickness ; no generous friend to relieve their distresses, and 
save them from indigence, degradation, and ruin. These reflections 
harrowed lp my soul, nor could I cease to shudder at these imagi- 
nary evils, added to my real ones, until I was forced mentally to ex- 



WRECK OF THE COMMERCE. 

claim, " Thy ways, great Father of the universa, are wise and just, 
and what am I ! an atom of dust, that dares to murmur at thy dispen- 
sations." 

I next considered, that eleven of my fellow sufferers, who had 
intrusted themselves to my care, were still alive and with me, and 
all but two of them (who were on the watch) lying on the ground, 
and wrapped in the most profound and apparently pleasing sleep; and 
as 1 surveyed them with tears of compassion, I felt it was a sacred 
duty assigned me by Providence, to protect and preserve their lives 
to my very utmost. The night passed slowly and tediously away ; 
when daylight at length began to dawn in the eastern horizon, and 
chased darkness before it, not to usher to our view the cheering pros- 
pect of approaching relief, but to unfold new scenes of suffering, 
wretchedness, and distress. So soon as it was fairly light, the old 
man came down, accompanied by his wives and two young men of 
the same family — he was armed with a spear of iron, having a handle 
made with two pieces of wood spliced together, and tied with cords : 
the handle was about twelve feet long. This he held balanced in his 
right hand, above his head, making motions as if to throw it at us ; he 
ordered us off to the wreck, pointing, at the same time to a large 
drove of camels that were descending the heights to the eastward of 
us, his women running off at the same time whooping and yefling 
horribly, throwing up sand in the air, and beckoning to those who 
had charge of the camels to approach. I ran towards the beach, and 
seized a small spar that lay there, to parry off the old man's lance, 
as a handspike was not long enough. He in the mean time came to 
the tent like a fury, where the people still were, and by slightly prick- 
ing one or two of them, and pointing at the same time towards the 
camels, he succeeded in frightening them, which was his object, as 
he did not wish to call help, lest he should be obliged to divide the 
spoil. The crew all made the best of their way to the small boat, 
while I parried off his spear with my spar, and kept him at a distance. 
He would doubtless have hurled it at me, but for the fear of losing it. 

The small boat was dragged to the water, alongside our hawser, 
but the people huddling into her in a confused manner, she was filled 
by the first sea, and bilged. I now thought we had no resource, 
except trying to get eastward or westward. Abandoning, therefore, 
our boats, provisions, &c. we tried to retreat eastward, but were 
opposed by this formidable spear, and could not make much progress ; 
for the old man was very active. He would fly from us like the wind, 
and return with the same speed. The camels were approaching very 
fast, and he made signs to inform us, that the people who were with 
them had fire arms, and would put us instantly to death; at the same 
time opposing us every way with his young men, with all their wea- 
pons, insisting on our going towards the wreck, and refusing to receive 
our submission, while the women and children still kept up their yell- 
ing. We then laid hold of the long boat, turned her over, and got 
her into the water; and as I would suffer only one at a time to get 
on board, and that too over her stern, we succeeded at length, and all 
got off safe alongside the wreck, which made a tolerable lee for the 
boat, though she was by this time half filled with water. 

All hands got on board the wreck except myself and another: we 



28 CAPTAIN 

kept bailing the boat and were able to keep her from entirely filling, 
having one buckpt and a keg to work with. The moment we were out 
of the way, all the family ran together where our tent was; here they 
were joined by the camels and two young men, which we had not 
before seen, apparently about the ages of twenty and twenty-six. 
They were armed with scimitars, and came running on foot from the 
eastward. The old man and woman ran to meet them, hallooing to 
us, brandishing their naked weapons and bidding us defiance. Tliey 
loaded the barrels of bread on their camels, which kneeled down to 
receive them ; the beef and all the other provisions, with the sail 
that the tent was made of &c. &c. and sent them off with the children, 
who drove them down. The old man next came to the beach; with 
his axe stove in all the heads of our water casks and casks of wines, 
emptying their contents into the sand. They then gathered up all 
the trunks, chests, sea instruments, books, and charts, and consumed 
them by fire in one pile. Our provisions and water being gone, we 
saw no other alternative but to try to get to sea in our leaky boat, or 
stay and be washed off the wreck the next night, or to perish by the 
hands of these barbarians, who we expected would appear in great 
force, and bring fire arms "with them, and they would besides soon be 
enabled to walk to the wreck, on a sand bar that was fast forming 
inside of the vessel, and now nearly dry at low water. The tide 
seemed to ebb and flow about six feet. We had now made all the 
preparations in our poAver for our departure, which amounted to 
nothing more than getting from the wreck a few bottles of wine and 
a few pieces of salt pork. No water could beprocui^d, and the bread 
was completely spoiled by being soaked in saltwater. Our oars were 
all lost except two that were on shore in the power of the natives. 
We had split a couple of plank for oars, and attempted to shove off, 
but a surf striking the boat, came over her bow, and nearly filling her 
with water, drifted her again alongside the wreck. We now made 
shift to get on board the wreck again, and bail out the boat; which 
when done, two hands were able to keep her free, while two others 
held her steady by ropes, so as to prevent her from dashing to pieces 
against the wreck. 



CHAPTER V. 

The natives seize the author by perfidy, and then get possession of the 
money — The author's critical situation on shore — He escapes to the 
wftck — Antonio Michel is massacred. 

Thk sight of our deplorable situation seemed to excite pity in the 
breasts of the savages who had driven us from the shore. They came 
down to the water's edge, bowed themselves to the ground, beckon- 
ing us, and particularly me, whom they knew to be the captain, to 
come on shore ; making at the same time all the signs of peace and 
friendship they could. They carried all their arms up over the sana 
hills, and returned without them. Finding I would not come on 
shore, one of them ran and fetched a small goat or dog skin, which 
bv signs they made me understand was filled with water, and all 



WRECK OF THE COMMERCE. 29 

retiring to a considerable distance from the beach, except the old 
man who had it ; he came into the water with it up to his armpits, 
beckoning me to come and fetch it and drink. He was nearly naked, 
and had no weapons about him. Being very thirsty, and finding wa 
could not get at any water, and no hope remaining of our being able 
to get out through "the surf to sea, I let myself down by the hawser, 
and went by means of it to the beach, where the old man met me and 
gave me the skin of water, which I carried off to the wreck, and the 
people hauled it up on board. This done, he made me understand 
that lie wished to go on board, and me to remain on the beach until 
his return. 

Seeing no possible chance of escaping, or of preserving our lives 
in any other way but by their assistance, and that that was only to be 
obtained by conciliating them — telling my men my mind, I went 
again to the shore. The young men, women, and children were now 
seated unarmed on the beach, near the water — the grown people near- 
ly, and the children entirely naked. They made all the signs oi 
peace they knew of, looking upwards, as if invoking heaven to witness 
their sincerity. The old man advancing, took me by the hand, and 
looking up to heaven, said, " Allah K. Beer." I knew that Allah 
was the Arabic name for the Supreme Being, and supposed K. Beer 
meant " our friend or father." I let him pass to the wreck, and went 
and seated myself on the beach with the others, who seemed very 
friendly, interlacing their fingers with mine; putting my hat on one 
another's head, and returning it to me again; stroking down my trow- 
sers, feeling my head and hands, examining my shoes, and feeling 
into my pockets, &c. 

When the people had hauled the old man on board, I endeavoured 
to make them understand that they must keep him until I was released, 
but they did not comprehend my meaning, owing to the noise of the 
surf; and after he had satisfied his curiosity by looking attentively at 
every thing he could see, which was nothing more than the wreck of 
the contents of the hold floating in her, inquiring for baftas, for fire- 
arms, and for money, as I afterwards learnt, and finding none, he came 
on shore. When ne was near the beach, and I about to rise to meet 
him, I was seized by both arms by the two stoutest of the young men, 
who had placed themselves on each side of me for the purpose of 
safe-keeping. They grasped my arms like lions, and at tnat instant 
the women and children presented their daggers, knives, and spears 
to my head and breast. To strive against them was instant death ; I 
was therefore obliged to remain quiet, and determined to show no 
concern for my life, or any signs of fear. The countenance of every 
one around me now assumed the most horrid and malignant expres- 
sions ; they gnashed their teeth at me, and struck their daggers with- 
in an inch of every part of my head and body. The young" men still 
held me fast, while the old one, seizing a sharp scimitar, laid hold of 
my hair at the same instant, as if to cut my throat, or my head off. I 
concluded my last moments had come, and that my body was doom- 
ed to be devoured by these beings, whom I now considered to be 
none other than cannibals, that would soon glut their hungry stomachs 
with my flesh. I could only say, " Thy will be done," mentally, and 
felt resigned to my fate, for I thought it could not be prevented. But 



30 

this conduct on their part, it soon appeared, was only for the purpose 
of frightening me, and as I had not changed countenance, the old 
man, after drawing his scimitar lightly across the collar of my shirt, 
which he cut a little, released my head, bidding me by signs to order 
all the money we had on board to be brought directly on shore. 

My mates and people then on the wreck, had witnessed this scene, 
and had agreed, as they afterwards informed me, that if I was mas- 
sacrsd, which they did not doubt from appearances would soon be the 
case, to rush on shore in the boat, armed in the best manner they 
were able, and revenge my death by selling their lives as dearly as 
possible. 

When the old man had quit his hold, and I hailed my people, their 
hopes began to revive, and one of them came on the hawser to know 
what they should do. I told him all the money which they had on 
board must be instantly brought on shore. He was in the water at 
some distance from me, and could not hear, on account of the noise 
occasioned by the surf, what 1 added, which was for them not to part 
with the money until I should be fairly released. He went on board, 
and all hands hoping to procure my release, put their money which 
they still had about them, to the amount of about one thousand dol- 
lars into a bucket, and slinging it on the hawser, Porter shoved it 
along before him near the beach, and was about to bring it up to the 

Elace where I sat. With considerable difficulty, however, I prevented 
im, as the surf made such a roaring, that he could not hear me, 
though he was only a few yards distant; but he at last understood 
my signs, and staid in the water until one of the young men went and 
received it from him. The old man had taken his seat alongside of 
me, and held his scimitar pointed at my breast. 

The bucket of dollars was brought and poured into one end of the 
old man's blanket, when he bid me rise and go along with them, he 
and the young men urging me along by both arms, with their daggers 
drawn before, and the women and children behind with the spear, and 
their knives near my back. In this manner they made me go with 
them over the sand drifts to the distance of three or four hundred 
yards, where they seated themselves and me on the ground. The old 
man then proceeded to count and divide the money. He made three 
heaps of it, counting into each heap by tens, and so dividing it exact- 
ly, gave to the two young men one-third or heap — to his two wives 
one-third, and kept the other to himself. Each secured his and their 
own part, by wrapping and tying it up in some of our clothing. Dur- 
ing this process, they had let go of my arms, though they were all 
around me. I thought my fate was now decided, if I could not by 
some means effect my escape. I knew they could outrun me, if I 
should leap from them, and would undoubtedly plunge their weapons 
to my heart if I attempted, and failed in the attempt. However, I 
resolved to risk it, and made a slight movement with that view at a 
moment when I thought all eyes were turned from me ; but one of 
the young men perceiving my manoeuvre, made a lounge at me with 
his scimitar. 1 eluded the force of his blow, by falling backwards on 
the ground ; it however pierced my waistcoat. He was about to 
repeat it, when the old man bade him desist. 
The money being now distributed and tied up, they made me rise 



WRECK OF THE COMMERCE. 31 

with them, and were all going together from the beach, holding me by 
the arms, with naked daggers all around me. There appealed now 
no possible means of escape, when the thought suddenly occurred to 
me, to tempt their avarice. I then, by signs, made them understand 
that there was more money in the possession of the crew. This 
seemed to please them, and they instantly turned themselves and me 
about for the beach, sending the money off by one of the young men 
and a boy. When they approached to within one hundred yards of 
the beach, they made me seat myself on the sand between two of 
them, who held me by the arms, bidding me order the money on 
shore. I knew there was none on board the wreck, or in the boat, 
but I imagined if I could get Antonio Michel on shore, 1 should be 
able to make my escape. I hailed accordingly, and ma le signs to 
my people to have one of them come near the shore ; but as they saw, 
by every movement of the natives, that my situation was dreadfully 
critical, none of them were inclined to venture, and I w tited more 
than an hour, was often threatened with death, and mad*-*, to halloo 
with all my might, until 1 became so hoarse as scarcely to make my- 
self heard by those around me. The pity of Mr. Savage at last over- 
came his fears. He ventured on the hawser, and reaching the beach 
in safety was about to come up to me, where he would hav ^ been cer- 
tainly seized on as I was, when I endeavoured to make lam under- 
stand, by signs, that he must stay in the water, and keep clear of the 
natives, if he valued his life ; but not being able to hear me, my guards, 
who supposed I was giving him orders to fetch the mone /, obliged 
me to get up and approach him a little, until I made him understand 
what I want3d : he then returned on board the wreck, and I was taken 
back to my former station. 

Antonio came to the shore, as soon as he knew it was my wish, 
and made directly towards me. The natives, expecting he would 
bring more money, flocked about him to receive it, but finding he had 
none, struck him with their fists, and the handles of their daggers, 
and stripped off all his clothing: the children at the same time prick- 
ing him with their sharp knives, and all seemed determined to torment 
him with a slow and cruel death. He begged for his life upon his 
knees, but they paid no regard to his entreaties. In hopes of saving 
him from the fury of these wretches, I told him to let them know by 
signs that there were dollars and other things buried in the sand, near 
where our tent had stood, and to endeavour to find them by digging. 
A new spy-glass, a hand-saw, and several other things had been 
buried there, and a bag containing about four hundred' dollars at a 
short distance from them. He soon made them understand that 
something was buried, and they hurried him to the spot he had point- 
ed out, and he began to dig. 1 had imagined that if this man would 
come on shore, I should be enabled to make my escape; yet I knew 
not how, nor had I formed any plan for effecting it. 

1 was seated on the sand, facing the sea, between the old man on 
my left, with his spear uplifted in his left banc, pointing to my breast, 
and the stoutest young man on my right, with a naked scimitar in his 
right hand, pointing to my head — both weapons were within six inches 
of me, and my guards within a foot on each side. I considered ai 
this time, that so soon as any thing should be found by those who 
B2 



32 

were digging, they would naturally speak and inform those who guard- 
ed me of it ; (these had let go of my arms sometime before) and as 1 
was pretty certain that both of them would look round as soon as 
the discovery of any treasure should be announced, I carefully drew 
up my legs under me, but without exciting suspicion, in order to he> 
ready for a start. The place where they were digging, was partly 
behind us on our right, and upon their making a noise, both my guards 
turned their heads and eyes from me towards them, when I instantly 
sprang out from beneath their weapons, and flew to the beach. 1 was 
running for my life, and soon reached the water's edge. Knowing 1 
was pursued, and nearly overtaken, I plunged into the sea, with all 
my force, head foremost, and swam under water as long as I could 
hold my breath; then rising to the surface, I looked round on my 
pursuers. The old man was within ten feet of me, up to his chin in 
water, and was in the act of darting his spear through my body, when 
a surf rolling over me, saved my life, and dashed him and his com- 
rades on the beach. 1 was some distance westward of the wreck; 
but swimming as fast as possible towards her, whilst surf after surf 
broke in towering heights over me, I was enabled, by almost super- 
human exertion, to reach the lee of the wreck, when I was taken into 
:he boat over the stern by the mates and people. 

I was so far exhausted that I could not immediately witness what 
Dassed on shore, but was informed by those who did, that my pursuers 
jtood motionless on the beach, at the edge of the water, until I was 
lafe in the boat : that they then ran towards poor Antonio, and plung- 
ng a spear into his body near his left breast downwards, laid him dead 
-it their feet. They then picked up what things remained, and made 
>ff all together. I saw them dragging Antonio's lifeless trunk across 
he sand hills, and felt an inexpressible pang, that bereft me for a 
moment of all sensation, occasioned by a suggestion that to me alone 
his massacre was imputable ; but on my recovery, when I reflected 
there were no other means whereby my own life could have been 
preserved, and, under Providence, the lives often men, who had been 
committed to my charge, I concluded I had not done wrong, nor 
have I since had occasion to reproach myself for being the innocent 
cause of his destruction; nor did any of my surviving shipmates, 
though perfectly at liberty so to do, ever accuse me on this point ; 
from which 1 think I have an undoubted right to infer, that their feel- 
ings perfectly coincided with mine on this melancholy occasion. 



CHAPTER VI. 

, v 

Providential preservation through the surf to the open ocean — Sufferings 
in their shattered boat nine days at sea — Landing again on the 
frightful coast of the African Desart. 

Hostilities had now commenced, and we could not doubt but 
these merciless ruffians would soon return in force, and, when able 
to overpower us, would massacre us all as they had already done 
Antonio. The wind blowing strong, and the surf breaking outside 



v 



WRECK OF 'fHE COMMERCE. 33 

and on the wreck twenty or thirty feet high, the hope of getting to sea 
in oar crazy long boat was indeed but faint. She had been thump- 
ing alongside the wreck, and on a sand bank all day, and writhed like 
an old basket, taking in as much water as two men constantly 
employed with buckets could throw out. The deck and outside of the 
wreck were fast going to pieces, and the other parts could not hold 
together long. The tide, (by being low,) together with the sand bar 
that had been formed by the washing of the sea from the bow of the 
wreck to the beach, had very much lessened the danger of communi- 
cating with the shore during this day ; but it was now returning to 
SAveep every thing from the wreck, aided by the wind, which blew a 
gale on shore every night. To remain on the wreck, or go on shore, 
was almost certain death ; the boat could no longer be kept afloat 
alongside, and being without provisions or water, if we should put to 
sea, we must soon perish. We had neither oars nor a rudder to the 
boat; no compass nor a quadrant to direct our course; but as it was 
our only chance, I resolved to try and get to sea ; expecting, never- 
theless, we should be swallowed up by the first surf, and launched 
into eternity all together. 

I, in the first place, sent Porter on shore to get the two broken oars 
that were still lying there, while I made my way through the water 
into the hold of the wreck, to try once more if any fresh waier could 
be found. 1 dove in at the hatchway, which was covered with water, 
and found, after coming up under the deck on the larboard side, as 1 
expected, just room enough to breathe, and to work among the float- 
ing casks, planks, and wreck of the hold. After much labour I found 
a water cask, partly full, and turning it over, discovered that its bung 
was tight. This gave me new courage, and after upheading it, I came 
up and communicated the circumstance to my shipmates, and we 
then made search for some smaller vessel to fill from the cask. After 
much trouble, a small keg was found in the after hold ; it might pro- 
bably hold four gallons — the head of the water cask was stove in, and 
with the help of Mr. Savage and Clark, I got the keg full of water, 
and a good drink for all hands besides, which was very much needed. 
The others were in the mean time employed in rigging out spars 
which we had lashed together over the stern of the wreck with a rope 
made fast to their outer ends, in order to give the boat headway, and 
clear her from the wreck, when we should finally shove off. rorter 
had returned with the oars, and also brought the bag of money that 
had been buried, containing about four hundred dollars : this he did 
of his own accord. 

We had got the small boat's sails, consisting of a jib and mainsail, 
into the boat, with a spar that would do for a mast, and the brig's fore- 
topmast staysail ; the keg of water, a few pieces of salt pork, a live 
pig, weighing about twenty pounds, which had escaped to the shore 
wnen the vessel struck, and which had swam back to us again when 
we were driven from the shore ; almut four pounds of figs, that had 
been soaking in salt water ever since the brig was wrecked, and had 
been fished out of her cabin; this was all our stock of provisions. 

Every thing being now ready, I endeavoured to encourage the crew 
as well as I could ; representing to them that it was better to be swal- 
lowed up all together, than to suffer ourselves to be massacred by th* 



34 

ferocious savages ; adding, that the Almighty was able to save, even 
when the last ray of hope was vanishing ; that we should never des- 
pair, but exert ourselves to the last extremity, and still hope lor his 
merciful protection. 

As we surveyed the dangers that surrounded us, wave following 
wave, breaking with a dreadful crash just outside of us, at every 
instant, our hearts indeed failed us, and there appeared no possibility 
of getting safely beyond the breakers, without a particular interference 
of Providence in our favour. The particular interference of Provi- 
dence in any case I had always before doubted ; but if there is a general, 
there must be a particular Providence. Every one trembled with 
dreadful apprehensions, and each imagined that the moment we ven- 
tured past trie vessel's stem, would be his last. I then said, " Let us 
pull off our hats, my shipmates and companions in distress." This 
was done in an instant ; when lifting my eyes and my soul towards 
heaven, I exclaimed, " Great Creator and preserver of the universe, 
who now seest our distresses ; we pray thee to spare our lives, and 
permit us to pass through this overwhelming surf to the open sea ; 
but if we are doomed to perish, thy will be done ; we commit our 
souls to the mercy of thee our God, who gave them : and O ! uni- 
versal Father, protect and preserve our widows and our children." 

The wind, as if by divine command, at this very moment ceased to 
blow. We hauled the boat out ; the dreadful surges that were nearly 
bursting upon us, suddenly subsided, making a path for our boat, 
through which we rowed her out as smoothly as if she had been on a 
river in a calm, whilst on each side of us, and but a few yards distant, 
the surf continued to break twenty feet high, and with unabated fury. 
We had to row nearly a mile in this manner : all were fully convinced 
that we were saved by the interposition of Divine Providence in this 
particular instance, and all joined in returning thanks to the Supreme 
Being for this mercy. As soon as we reached the open sea, and had 
gained some distance from the wreck, we observed the surf rolling 
behind us with the same force as it had on each side the boat. We 
next fitted the mast, and set the small boat's mainsail. The wind 
now veered four points to the eastward, so that we were enabled to 
fetch past the point of the Cape, though the boat had neither keel nor 
rudder. It was sunset when we got out, and night coming on, the 
wind as usual increased to a gale before morning, and we kept the 
boat to the wind by the help of an oar, expecting every moment to be 
swallowed up by the waves. We were eleven in number on board; 
two constantly bailing were scarcely abfe to keep her free, changing 
hands every half hour. The night was very dark and foggy, and we 
could not be sure of fetching clear of the land, having nothing to 

f;uide us but the wind. In tne morning we sailed back again for the 
and, and had approached it almost within reach of the breakers with- 
out seeing it, when we put about again. It had been my intention 
after we had got to sea, to run down the coast in the hope of finding 
some vessel, or to discover the mouth of some river, in order to 
obtain a supply of water. But now the dangers and difficulties we 
should have to encounter in doing this, were taken into consideration. 
If we tried to navigate along the coast, it was necessary to know our 
course, or we should be in imminent danger of being dashed to pieces 



SUFFERINGS IN THE BOAT. 35 

on it every dark day, and every night. The thick foggy m ^ath. r 
would prevent our seeing the land in the day time; wh.'st the w^nd, 
blowing almost directly on the land, would force us towaids it, and 
endanger the safety of both the boat and our lives, at every turn or 
point. We had no compass to guide us either by day or night; no 
instrument by which to find our latitude ; no rudder to steer our boat 
with ; nor were we in possession of materials wherewith it was possible 
to make one ; she had no keel to steady her, nor was there a steering 
place in her stein, where an oar could be fixed by any other means 
thin by lashing to the stern ring, which afforded a very unsteady hold. 
On the one hand, we considered that if we escaped the danger of 
being driven on shore or foundering at sea, and should succeed in 
reaching the cultivated country south of the desart, we should have 
to encounter the ferocious inhabitants, who would not fail, in the hope 
of plunder, to massacre us, or doom us to slavery. On the other 
hand, we reflected that we had escaped from savages who had already 
killed one of our shipmates, had gained the open sea through divine 
mercy, and could stand off to the westward without fear of being 
driven on shore. In this direction we might meet with some friendly 
vessel to save us, which was o>ur only hope in that way ; and the 
worst that could happen to us was to sink altogether in the sea, or 
gradually perish through want of sustenance. 

Having considered, and represented to my companions the dangers 
that beset us on every side, I asked their opinions one by one, and 
found they were unanimously in favour of committing themselves to 
the open sea- in preference to keeping along the coast. The dangers 
appeared to be fewer, and all agreed that it was better to perish on 
the ocean, if it was God's will, than by the hands of the natives. 
There being a strong breeze, we stood off by the wind and rigged our 
jib. We now agreed to put ourselves upon allowance of one bottle 
of water and half a bottle of wine among eleven of us, and a scrap or 
pork and two soaked and salted figs for each man. During this day, 
which was the 30th August, 1815, we fitted waist cloths to go 
round above the gunwale of the boat, to prevent the sea from dashing 
over; they were from eight to ten inches broad, made from the brig's 
fore-staysail, and were kept up by small pieces of a board which we 
formed in the boat, so that they helped in some measure to keep off 
the spray. It had been cloudy all day, and the boat leaked faster 
than sue had done before. As night came on the wind blew hard 
and raised the sea very high, but the boat was kept near the wind by 
her sails, and drifted broadside before it, smoothing the sea to the 
windward, and did not ship a great deal of water. .» On the 31st it 
became more moderate, but the weather was very thick and hazy. 
Our pig being nearly dead for the want of water, we killed it, taking 
care, however, to save his blood ; which we divided amongst us and 
drank, our thirst having become almost insupportable. We also 
divide! the pig's liver, intestines, &c. between us, and ate some of 
them, (as they were fresh,) to satisfy, in some degree, our thirst. 
Thus this day passed away; no vessel was yet seen to relieve us ; we 
nad determined to save our urine for drink, which we accordingly did 
in some empty bottles, and found great relief from the use of it; for 
being obliged to labour hard by turns to keep the boat above water, 



86 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

crir thirst was much more severely felt than if we had remained still. 

r j he night came on very dark and lowering ; the sky seemed big with 
:t i impending tempest; the wind blew hard from theN. E. and before 
a idnight the sea dashed into the boat in such quantities as several 
times to fill her more than half full. All hands were employed in 
throwing out the water with hats and other things, each believing his 
final hour had at length arrived, and expecting that every approach- 
ng S-irge would bury him for ever in a watery grave. 

The boat racked like an old basket, letting in water at every seam 
and split ; her timbers working out or breaking off; the nails I had 
| ut in while last on shore were kept from entirely drawing out, merely 
by the pressure of the water acting on the outside of the boat. Sharp 
flashes of lightning, caused by heat and vapour, shot across the 
fcloom, rendering the scene doubly horrid. In this situation, some of 
the men thought it was no longer of use to try to keep the boat afloat, 
as they said she must soon fill in spite of all their exertions. Having 
grayed to the Almighty, and implored pardon for our transgressions, 
each one seemed perfectly resigned to his fate : this was a trying 
moment, however, and my example and advice could scarcely induce 
rftem to continue bailing ; whilst some of them, by thrusting their 
'; leads into the water, endeavoured to ascertain what the pains of death 
were, by feeling the effects the water would produce on their organs. 
Thus passed this night; all my exertions were necessary to encourage 
he men to assist me in bailing the boat, by reminding them of our 
miraculous escape from the savages, and through the surf to the open 
$ea, and enforcing on their minds the consideration that we were still 
in the hands of the same disposing power, and that we ought not to 
suppose we were aided in escaping from the shore by a miracle, to 
oe abandoned here and swallowed up by the ocean; and that for my 
own part I still enteitained hopes ui oui |;ieservation ; at any rate, 
that it was a duty we owed to God and ourselves to strive to the latest 
breath to prevent our own destruction. Day came on amidst these 
accumulated horrors; it was the first of September: thirst pressed 
upon us, which we could only allay by wetting our mouths twice a 
day with a few drops of wine and water, and as many times with oui 
urine. 

The wind continued to blow hard all this day, and the succeeding 
night with great violence, and the boat to work and leak in the same 
manner as before. Worn down with fatigues and long continued 
hunger and thirst, scorched by the burning rays of the sun, and no 
vessel appearing to save us, our water fast diminishing, as well as our 
strength, every hope of succour by meeting with a vessel entirely failed 
me, so that in the afternoon of the 2d of September, I represented to 
my companions, that as we were still alive, after enduring so many 
trials, it was my advice to put about, and make towards the coast 
again ; that if we continued at sea we must inevitably perish, and that 
we could but perish in returning towards the land; that we might 
still exist four or five days longer, by means of the water and provi- 
sions that remained, and that it might be the will of Providence t 
send us on the coast where our vessel had been wrecked, and where 
means were perhaps prepared to bring about our deliverance and res- 
toration to oui country and our families. All seemed convinced that 



SUFFERINGS IN THE BOAT. 37 

it was so, and we immediately put about with a kind of cheerfulness 

I had not observed in any countenance since our first disaster. 

From this time all submitted to their fate with tolerable patience, 
and kept the boat free, though we had continual bad weather, without 
murmuring. We wetted our lips with wine and water twice every 
day, and ate the bones and some of the raw flesh of our pig, with its 
skin ; but at length we became so faint as to be unable to take our 
turns in bailing, whilst the boat laboured so much as to work off 
nearly all *Iie nails that kept the planks to her timbers above water. 

By the 6th of September, at night, we had not made the land, and 
could not hope to make the boat hold together in any manner above 
another day. I expected we should have found the land that day, 
but was disappointed, and some of the people began again to despair. 
Impelled by thirst, they forgot what they owed to their shipmates, 
and in the night got at, and drank off one of the two bottles of wine 
we had remaining. When I mentioned the loss of the wine on the 
morning of the 7th, all denied having taken or drank it, adding that it 
was an unpardonable crime, and that those who did it ought to be 
thrown overboard instantly. From the heat observable in their con- 
versation, I guessed the offenders; but the wineovas gone, and no 
remedy remained but patience, and stricter vigilance for the future. 

In a short time we discovered land at a great distance ahead, and to 
leeward. This gave all hands new spirits ; hope again revived for a 
moment. The land appeared perfectly smooth in the distant horizon ; 
not the smallest rising or hill was to be seen, and 1 concluded we 
must be near a desart coast, where our sufferings would find no relief 
but in death. We continued to approach the land, driving along to 
the southward. by a swift current, roaring like a strong tide in a nar- 
row rocky passage, until near sunset. 

The coast now appeared to be formed of perpendicular and over- 
hanging cliffs, rising to a great height, with no shelving shore to land 
on, or way by which we might mount to the top of the precipices. 
My opinion was, that we should endeavour to keep to sea this night 
also, and steer along down the coast, until by the help of daylight, 
we might find a better place to land, and where we should not be in 
such danger of being overwhelmed by the surf; but in this I was 
opposed by the united voice of the mates and all the people. 

The surf was breaking high among the rocks, near the shore : we 
were now very near the land, and seeing a small spot that bore the 
appearance of a sand beach, we made fork, and approaching it with 
the help of our oars, we were carried on the top of a tremendous 
wave, so as to be high and dry when the surf retired, on a little piece 
of sand beach, just large enough for the boat to lie on. Without us, 
and in the track we came, numerous fragments of rocks showed their 
craggy heads, over which the surf foamed as it retired, with a dread- 
ful roaring, which made us feel we had once more escaped instant 
destruction, by what appeared a miraculous interference of Provi- 
dence. 

We k'ot out of the boat, and carried up the little remains of our 
water and pork among the rocKs, oeyond the reach of tne surf: the 
remains of the pig had been previously consumed. Our boat was 
now stove in reality ; over our heads pended huge masses of broken 



38 

and shattered rocks, extending both ways as far as the eye could 
reach : our limbs had become stiff for the want of exercise ; our flesh 
had wasted away for the want of sustenance, and through fatigue our 
tongues were so stiff in our parched mouths, that we could with great 
difficulty speak so as to be understood by each other, though we had 
finished our last bottle of wine between us, for fear of losing it, just 
before we ventured to the shore through the surf. 

Being thus placed on dry land, we had yet to discover how we 
were to reach the surface above us; so taking Mr. Savage with me, 
we clambered over the rocks to the westward, (for the coast run- 
ning here from E. N. E. to W. S. VV. induced me to think we were 
near Cape Blanco, which indeed afterwards proved to be the case,) 
but we searched in vain, and as there appeared to be no access to 
the summit in that direction, we returned (it being then dark) to our 
shipmates, who had been busied in preparing a place on the sand, 
between the rocks, to sleep on. We now wet our mouths with water, 
ate a small slice of the fat of salt pork, and after pouring out our souls 
before the universal Benefactor, in prayers and thanksgiving for his 
mercy and his long continued goodness, (as had constantly been oui 
custom,) we laid down to rest, and, notwithstanding our dreadful 
situation, slept soundly till daylight. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Sufferings of the Crew, and manner of climbing over the rocks along 
the sea shore, under high cliffs — Reaching the surface of the Desart — 
Meeting with a company of wandering Arabs, by whom they art 
seized as slaves, and stripped naked. 

On the morning of September the 8th, as soon as it was light, 
being much refreshed by our undisturbed sleep, we agreed to leave 
all we had that was cumbrous or heavy, and try to make our way to 
the eastward, in hopes of finding a place, whilst we had yet strength 
remaining, to dig for water, or to get to the surface of the land above 
us, where we hoped to find some herbage or vegetable juice to allay, 
in some degree, our burning thirst, which was now rendered more 
grievous than ever, by our eating a few muscles that were found on 
the rocks, and extremely salt. Having agreed to keep together, and 
to render each other mutual assistance, we divided amongst us the 
little water we had, every one receiving his share in a bottle, in order 
to preserve it as long as possible : then taking a small piece or two of 
pork, which we slung on our backs, either in a spare shirt or a piece 
of canvass, leaving all our clothes but those we had on, and our jack- 
ets, we bent our way towards the east. I had, before starting, buried 
the bag of dollars, and induced each man to throw away everyone he 
had about him, as I was convinced that money had been the cause of 
our former ill treatment, by tempting the natives to practise treache- 
rous and cruel means, in order to extort it from us. 

We proceeded now, as well as we were able, along close to the 
vrater side. The land was either nearly perpendicular, or jutting 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 39 

over our heads, rising to the height of from five to six hundred feet, 
and we were forced to climb over masses of sharp and craggy rocks, 
from two to three hundred feet in height; then to descend again by 
letting ourselves down from rock to rock, until we reached the water's 
edge; now waiting for a surf to retire, while we rushed one by one 
past a steep point, up to our necks in the water, to the rocks more 
favourable on the other side, where by clinging fast hold, we kept our- 
selves from being washed away by the next surf, until, with each 
other's assistance, we clambered up beyond the reach of the greedy 
billows. The beating of the ocean, and the force of the currents 
against this coast, had undermined the precipices in such a manner, 
that vast masses of rocks, gravel, and sand, had given way and tum- 
bled to the shore. Rocks falling on rocks, had formed chasms, 
through which we were forced to pass at times, for a long distance ; 
and surmounting one obstacle, seemed only to open to our view 
another, and a more dangerous one. At one place, we were obliged 
to climb along on a narrow ledge of rocks, between forty and fifty 
feet high, and not more than eighteen inches broad; those at our 
backs were perpendicular, and a little higher up, huge pieces that had 
been broken off from near the surface, and stopped on their way down 
by other fragments, seemed to totter as if on a pivot, directly over 
our heads ; while the least slip must have plunged us into the fright- 
ful abyss below, where the foaming surges would instantly have 
dashed us to pieces against the rocks. Our shoes were nearly all 
worn off; our feet were lacerated and bleeding; the rays of the sun, 
beating on our emaciated bodies, heated them, we thought, nearly to 
dissolution; and under these towering cliffs, there was not a breath of 
air to fan our almost boiling blood. I had, in crawling through one 
of the holes between the rocks, broke my bottle, and spilled the little 
water it contained; and my tongue, cleaving to the roof of my mouth, 
was as useless as a dry stick, until I was enabled to loosen it by the 
expedient before mentioned. 

Thus passed this day with us, and when night came on, it brought 
with it new distresses. We had advanced along the coast not more 
than about four miles this day, with all the exertion we were capable 
of, without finding any change for the better in our local sifuation, 
whilst our strength was continually diminishing, and no circumstance 
occurred to revive our hopes. We had seen "this day, however, on 
the broken rocks, several locusts, which we took to be grasshoppers, 
and concluded, if we could once reach the surface, we should find 
herbage, at least, to feed on. These locusts were dead, and crum- 
bled to dust on the slightest touch. 

We now found a good place in the sand, about one hundred feet 
from the sea, under a high cliff, to sleep on; here we greased oui 
mouths by eating a small piece of salt pork, and wet them, as usual, 
with a sip of urine. All hands, except myself, had a little fresh water 
left; my comrades knew I had not one drop, and two of them offered 
to lot me taste of theirs, with which I just moistened my tongue, 
and after sending up our prayers to heaven, for mercy and relief in 
our forlorn and desolate condition, we laid ourselves down to sleep. 

I had, on seating out from home, received Horace (Savage under 
mv particular charge, from his widowed mother: his father, when 



40 

living, having been my intimate friend, I promised her to take care 

of him, as if he was my own son, and this promise 1 had endeavour- 
ed tu fulfil. He was now in deep distress, and 1 determined within 
myself til at I would adopt him as my own son, for his mother was poor; 
that I would watch over his ripening years, in case we both lived, and 
if fortune should favour me in future, that he should share it in com- 
mon with my children. 1 now took him in my arms, and we all slept 
soundly till morning, though the change was so great in the night, 
from extreme heat to a damp cold air, that we awoke in the morning 
(September 9th) with benumbed and trembling limbs. Sleep, how- 
ever, had refreshed us, and though our feet were torn, and our frames 
nearly exhausted, yet we chased away despair, and set forward on our 
journey. 

We liad soon discovered, at no great distance ahead, a sand beach 
that appeared large, and from which the shore upward seemed more 
sloping, as if opening a way to the surface above it; we also thought 
we should be able, in case we could reach the beach, to get water 
that would be drinkable, by digging in the sand down to a level with 
the sea, and letting it filter into the hole ; this I had done on the Lit- 
tle Keys of the Bahama bank with success, and expected it would 
be the same here ; — so we made our way slowly along, as we had 
done the day before, until we got within a short distance of this beach, 
where we met with a promontory of rocks, which rose in height even 
with the surface above us; jutting far out into the sea, whose waves 
had worn in under its base to the distance of fifty or one hundred feet, 
and now dashed in a wild and frightful manner against the projecting 
points, which its washings for ages had formed underneath. To climb 
over this formidable obstruction, was impossible ; to get around it 
through the water, appeared equally so, as there was not sufficient 
time, by the greatest exertion, to pass before the return of the surf, 
which would inevitably hurl the adventurer into the cavities under the 
cliff, among the sharp rocks, where he must immediately perish. 

Thus far we had all got safe ; to advance by what appeared to be 
the only possible way, seemed like seeking instant death ; to remain 
in our present situation, was merely to die a lingering one ; and to 
return^ was still worse, by increasing our pains, without leading to any 
chance of relief. Before us was a prospect of getting water, and 
arriving at the summit of the land, if we could only get round the 
promontory alive ; and fortunately, at this moment we observed a rock 
about half way across this point, that had tumbled down from above, 
and had been washed full of holes ; it was covered by every surf, and 
its top left bare as the wave receded. I imagined I could reach it 
before the wave came in; and after making known my intentions to 
my companions, 1 followed the surf out, and laid hold of the rock 
just as the returning swell overwhelmed me. I clung to it for my 
"life, the surf passing over me, and spending its fury among the crags : 
the instant it retired I hurried on to the steep rocks beyond the point, 
where I again held on, while another surf swept over me, and then 
left me to clamber up, as quick as I was able, on the flat surface of 
the rock, bevon 1 the reach of the waves. The tide was not yet en- 
tirely out, tii th I had judged it was; and as it continued to fall, 
my people following the same course and embracing the same means* 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 41 

all got safe to the first rock, and from thence to the place where 1 
lay prostrate to receive and assist them in getting up. Though out 
limbs and bodies were very much bruised in this severe encounter, 
yet we felt somewhat encouraged, and made for the sand beach as 
fast as we were able. We soon reached it, and began digging in the 
sand for water-, at different distances from the sea, but found it to be 
as salt as the ocean. 

After digging several holes farther off, and meeting with dry rock 
instead of water, 1 pitched upon a spot for our last effort ; and while 
the others were digging, I told them 1 would go and see if I could 
get up the bank, and if 1 succeeded that I would return in a short 
time with the news : the bank here rose abruptly, leaving, however, in 
some places sufficient slope for a man to ascend it by climbing. 
Through one of these slopes I made my way up, in the hope of find- 
ing some green thing that might help to allay our burning thirst, and 
some tree to shelter us from the scorching blaze of the sun; but what 
was my surprise when I came to the spot so long desired, and found 
it to be a barren plain, extending as far as the eye could reach each 
way, without a tree, shrub, or spear of grass, that might give the 
smallest relief to expiring nature ? I had exerted myself to the utmost 
to get there ; the dreary sight was more than I could bear ; my spirits 
fainted within me, and I fell to the earth deprived of every sensation. 
When I recovered, it was some time before I could recollect where I 
was : my intolerable thirst, however, at length convinced me, and I 
was enabled to administer the same wretched and disgusting relief to 
which I had so frequently before been compelled to resort. 

Despair now seized on me, and I resolved to cast myself into the 
sea as soon as I could reach it, and put an end to my life and miseries 
together. But when I the next moment reflected that 1 had left ten 
of my fellow creatures on the shore, who looked up to me for an exam- 
ple of courage and fortitude, and for whom I still felt myself bound to 
continue my exertions, which might yet be blessed with success ; 
and that at the moment when 1 supposed the hand of relief far from 
me, it might be very near ; and when I next thought of my wife and 
children, I felt a kind of conviction within me, that we should not all 
perish after such signal deliverances. I then made for the sea side 
about a mile eastward of my men, and finding a good place between 
some rocks, I bathed myself for half an hour in the sea water, which 
refreshed and revived me very much, and then returned to my men 
with a heart lighter than I expected. I was very much fatigued, and 
threw myself down on the sand. They huddled around me to know 
what success I had met with ; but to waive the subject of my sad 
discovery, I told them we could go along the beach for two miles 
before meeting again with the perpendicular cliffs, and would find 
great relief by bathing our bodies in the saltwater; inquiring, at the 
same time, if they had found any fresh in the last place they had been 
digging. 1 thus diverted their minds, in some measure, from the 
object they wished to inquire after; and as I found they had dug 
down six or eight feet, and had found no water, having come to a 
rock which frustrated all their attemots ; with heavy hearts and tot- 
tering limbs we staggered along the shore together. 

It was about mid-day when we got to the end of the sand beach * 



42 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

my people thought it would be impossible for them to climb the 
craggy steep ; so with common consent we laid ourselves, down under 
the shade formed by a shelving rock, to rest, and to screen ourselves 
from the rays of the sun, which had heated the air to such a degree, 
that it was with the greatest difficulty we could fetch our breath. 
There was no wind or air stirring at this time, except the hot steam 
rising from the sandy beach, which had been wet by the sea at the 
last tide. 

Having lain down in our exhausted state, neither thirst nor our 
reflections, had power to keep our eyes open ; we sunk into a lethargic 
sleep, which continued about two hours, during which time a li^ht 
breeze from the sea had set in, and gently fanned and refreshed our 
debilitated bodies. We then ascended the steep bank, crawling fre- 
quently on our hands and knees. Though I had previously prepared 
all their minds for a barren' prospect, yet the sight of it, when they 
reached its level, had such an effect on their senses that they sunk to 
the earth involuntary ; and as they surveyed the dry and dreary waste, 
stretching out to an immeasurable extent before them, they exclaimed, 
" 'Tis enough ; here we must breathe our last ; we have no hope before 
us of finding either water or provisions, or human beings, or even 
wild beasts ; nothing can live here." The little moisture yet left in 
us overflowed at our eyes; but as the salt tears rolled down* our woe- 
worn and haggard cheeks, we were fain to catch them with our fingers 
and carry them to our mouths, that they might not be lost, and serve 
to moisten our tongues, that were now nearly as dry as parched 
leather, and so stiff, that with difficulty we could articulate a sentence 
so as to be understood by each other. 

I began now to exhort and press them to go forward; telling them 
that we still might find relief, and in this effort I was assisted by Hogan, 
who thought with me that it was time enough to lie down and "die, 
when we could not walk. Mr. Williams and Mr. Savage were also 
willing, and we moved on slowly, with scarcely a hope, however, of 
meeting with the least relief. We continued along on the edge of 
the cliffs, which could not be less than from five to six hundred feet 
in perpendicular height : the surface of the ground was baked down 
almost as hard as flint; it was composed of small ragged stones, 
gravel, and reddish earth. We observed a small dry stalk of a plant, 
resembling that of a parsnip, though very low ; and some dry remains 
of locusts were also scattered on the surface as we proceeded. Near 
night we saw some small holes dug on the surface, and on examina- 
tion found they had been made in order to get at the root of the dry 
weed we had just before seen : this we conceived had been done by 
some wild beasts ; but finding no tracks of any kind near them, nor 
on the dirt tlug up, I concluded it was done by man, and declared my 
hopes to my desponding companions of soon meeting with human 
beings. 

We procured, after great labour in digging with sticks we had 
brought from the boat and the help of stones, a few small pieces of a 
root as large as a man's finger;' 1 it was very dry, but in taste resembled 
smellage or celery. We could not get enough to be of any material 
service to us, owing to the scarcity of the plant, and the hardness ol 
the giound ; but about sunset we discovered, on a small spet of sand. 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 43 

„ne imperfect track of a camel, and thought we saw that of a man, 
irnich we took to be a very old track. 

Believing from our present feelings that we could not possibly 
survive a day longer without drink, and no signs of finding ^ny appear- 
ing, the last ray of hope faded away, and the gloom of despair, wnich 
had at length settled on our hearts, now became visible in every coun- 
tenance. A little after sunset we saw at a considerable distance in 
advance, perhaps three or four miles, another sand beach, and I urged 
myself forwards towards it as fast as I could, in hopes of getting some 
rest by sleeping on the sand for the night, as the ground we were 
now on was as hard as a rock, and covered with small sharp stones. 
I was encouraging the men to follow on, when Clark, being near me, 
begged me to took towards the beach, saying, "1 think I see a light !" 
It was the light of a fire ! 

Joy thrilled through my veins like the electric spark : hope again 
revived within me, and while I showed it to my sinking and despair- 
ing crew, I found it communicated to them the same feelings. I told 
them we must approach the natives, who 1 could not doubt were 
encamped r or the night, with the greatest caution, for fear of alarming 
them, and tailing a sacrifice to their fury, in the confusion we might 
occasion by our sudden approach in the dark. New life and spirits 
were infused into all the crew, and we soon reached a broken place in 
the bank, through which we descended carefully over the broken rocks, 
from three to four hundred feet, to a sandy spot near its base, where 
we laid ourselves down for the night, after imploring the protection of 
Almighty God, and wetting our mouths with a few drops of water 
still remaining in the bottles. 

The sand on which we lay was heated by the sun's rays sufficiently 
to have roasted eggs, and as we were on the side of a sand hill, we 
scraped off the top of it for a foot or two deep; when finding the heat 
more supportable, and the cool breeze of the night setting in, all 
hands being excessively fatigued, soon forgot their sufferings in the 
arms of sleep, excepting myself; for my mind had become so excited 
by alternate hopes, and fears, and reflections, that I was kept awake 
through the whole of this long and dismal night. I had determined, 
as soon as daylight appeared, to show ourselves to the natives, and 
submit either to death or life from their hands. 1 had no doubt of 
their being Arabs who would take and hold us as slaves, and though 
I did not expect myself to live but a short time in that condition, I 
presumed some of my fellow sufferers might, and that it was a decree 
of Providence which had set this alternative before us. 

1 no longer felt any fear of death, for that would put a period to my 
long sufferings : my thirst had become so insupportable, that I could 
with difficulty breathe, and thought I would be willing to sell my life 
for one gill of fresh water. My distresses had been so excessive, and 
my cares and anxieties for my shipmates so great, that all .thoughts of 
my family had been driven almost entirely from my mind. I could 
not sleep — why was I denied what all around me were enjoying? I 
shut my eyes, and prayed to be permitted to sleep, if only for one 
hour, but all in vain. I imagined tnat the savages, who were neai 
us, would not take our lives immediately, as it was contrary to thena* 
ture of man to slay his fellow creatures, merely from a thirst for blood. 



44 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

We nad now no arms to defend ourselves, nor any property to 
excite their jealousy, revenge, or avarice ; we were as miserable, I 
conceived, as human beings could be, and I hoped we should excite 
pity, even in the breasts of the savage Arabs. I could hardly yet 
think, that we were to fall a sacrifice to these people, after the provi- 
dential escapes we had already experienced : next, the remembrance 
of my wife and children flitted across my mind, and I was forced to 
acknowledge, that however bad their situation might be, their real 
distress could in no wise equal mine, and that I had no right to repine 
at the dispensations of Providence, since every mortal has his circle 
wisely marked out by heaven ; and nothing but blindness to the future, 
occasions us to complain of the ways of our Creator. If it was the 
will of the Supreme Being that I should again see and embrace my 
beloved family, it would certainly take place; if not, that power who 
ordered all things for the general good, would not forsake them. 

Thus passed away the night, which had seemed to me an endless 
one. I was impatient to know my fate, and chid the slowness of the 
sun; my great anxiety and wakefulness, rendered my thirst doubly 

gainful, and having expended all the urine I had so carefully saved, I 
ad recourse before morning to robbery, and actually stole a sip ot 
the cook's water, which he had made and saved in a bottle ; but the 
only taste it had for me was a salt one, and it seemed (if possible) to 
increase my burning thirst. The day at last arrived that was to decide 
our fate. It was the 10th of September. I awakened my com- 
panions, and told them we must now go forward and show ourselves 
to the natives — that I expected they would seize upon us as slaves, 
but had strong hopes that some of us would escape with our lives. 
I also mentioned to them the name of the American Consul Gene- 
ral at Tangier, and that if it ever was in their power, they must write 
to him, and inform him of the fate of our vessel and her crew : to 
write, if possible, to any Christian merchant in Mogadore, Gibraltar, 
or elsewhere, or to the Consul at Algiers, Tunis, or Tripoli, if they 
should hear those places mentioned, and exhorted all to submit to 
their fate like men, and be obedient, as policy required, to their future 
masters. I reminded them again of the former interpositions of Pro- 
vidence in our favour, and said all I could to encourage and persuade 
them, that mildness and submission might save our lives — that resis- 
tance and stubbornness would certainly tend to make them more mise- 
rable while alive, and probably prompt the natives to murder them 
out of resentment. 

All agreed to go forward, and on rising the little sandhills near us, 
we discovered a very large drove of camels at about half a mile to the 
eastward of us, Avith a large company of people, in a kind of valley 
formed by a ridge of sand hills on the north next the sea, and by the 
high land to the south, rising from five to six hundred feet in upright 
and overhanging cliffs — through which, a little farther on, we saw a 
deep hollow that appeared to have been formed by some convulsive 
shock of the earth, which had thus made a sort of passage, through 
which camels were enabled to pass up and down, but with great dif- 
ficulty. The Arabs seemed bussed in giving water to their camels; 
they saw us, and in an instant one man and two women ran towards 
ts with great speed. As they came forward, many others of them 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 45 

who saw us, also began to advance: so taking Mr. Williams and Mr. 
Savage with me, I went forward to meet them, bowed myself to the 
ground before them, and with signs implored their compassion. 

The man was armed with a scimitar, which he held naked in his 
hand. He ran up to me as if to cut me to the earth : I bowed again 
in token of submission, and he began without further ceremony to 
strip off my clothing, while the women were doing the same to Mr. 
Williams and Mr. Savage. Thirty or forty more were arriving — some 
running on foot, with muskets or naked scimitars in their hands ; 
others riding on swift camels, came quickly up: — by the time the} 
arrived, however, we were all stripped naked to the skin. Those 
Arabs near us threw up sand into the air, as the others approached, 
yelling loudly, which I now learned was a sign of hostility. The one 
who stript me had also taken the cook, and had put all the clothing 
he had stript from us into a blanket, which he had taken from off his 
own back for that purpose, leaving himself entirely naked. This 
bundle he laid on the negro's shoulders, making me understand that 
myself and the black man belonged to him, and that we must not let 
the others take the clothes in the bundle under pain of death. 

As soon as those on the camels were near, they made them lie 
down, and jumping off, ran to us with their scimitars naked and ready 
for action ; those on foot now joined these, and a great noise and 
scuflle ensued. Six or eight of them were about me, one hauling me 
one way and one another: poor Dick, the black man, partook of the 
hauling, and each man seemed to insist most strenuously that we 
belonged of right to him. The one who stript us, stuck to us as his 
lawful property, signifying, " you may have the others, these are 
mine." They cut at each other over my head, and on every side ot 
me, with their bright weapons, which fairly whizzed through the air 
within an inch of my naked body, and on every side of me, now hack- 
ing each other's arms apparently to the bone, then laying their ribs 
bare with gashes, while their heads, hands, and thighs, received a full 
share of cuts and wounds. The blood, streaming from every gash, 
ran down their bodies, colouring and heightening the natural hideous- 
ness of their appearance. I had expected to be cut to pieces in this 
dreadful affray, but was not injured. 

Those who were not actually engaged in combat, seized the occa- 
sion, and snatched away the clothing in Dick's bundle, so that when 
the fight was over, he had nothing left but his master's blanket. This 
battle and contest lasted for nearly an hour — brother cutting brother 
friend slashing friend. Happily for them, their scimitars were not 
very sharp, so that when they rubbed off the dried blood from their 
bodies afterwards with sand, their wounds were not so great or deep 
as I expected they would be, and they did not pay the least apparent 
attention to them. 1 had no time to see what they were doing with 
my shipmates; only myself and the cook were near each other. 

The battle over, I saw my distressed companions divided among 
the Arabs, and all going towards the drove of camels, thcugll they 
were at some distance from me. We two were delivered into tiie 
.m,(ls of two old women, who urged us on with sticks towards the 
camels. Naked and barefoot, I could not go very fast, and showed 
the women my mouth, which was parched white as frost, and with oat 



46 

a sign of moisture. When we got near the well, one of the women 
called for another, who came to us with a wooden bowl, that held, [ 
should guess, about a gallon of water, and setting it on the ground, 
made myself and Dick kneel down and put our heads into it like 
camels. I drank I suppose half a gallon, though I had been very 
particular in cautioning the men against drinking too much at a time, 
in case they ever came to water. They then led us to the well, the 
water of which was nearly as black and disgusting as stale bilge water. 
A large bowl was now filled with it, and a little sour camel's milk 
poured from a goat skin into it; this tasted to me delicious, and 
we all drank of it till our stomachs were literally filled. But this 
intemperance very soon produced a violent diarrhoea ; the conse- 
quences of which, however, were not very troublesome, and as our 
situation was similar to that of a beast, being totally divested of 
clothing, all we cared about was to slake our unabating thirst, and 
replenish our stomachs by repeated draughts* of this washy and 
unwholesome swill. 

We now begged for something to eat, but these Arabs had nothing 
for themselves, and seemed very sorry it was not in their power to 
give us some food. There were at and about the well, I should 
reckon, about one hundred persons, men, women, and children, and 
from four to five hundred camels, large and small. The sun beat 
very fiercely upon us, and our skins seemed actually to fry like meat 
before the fire. These people continued to draw water for then 
camels, of which the animals drank enormous quantities. It was about 
ten o'clock A. M. as I judged by the sun, when one company of the 
Arabs, having finished watering, separated their camels from among 
the others, took Mr. Williams, Robins, Porter, Hogan, Barrett, and 
Burns, mounted them on the bare backs of the camels behind the 
hump, by the hair of which they were obliged to steady themselves 
and hold'on, without knowing whither they were going, or if I should 
ever see them again. 1 took an affectionate leave of them. This 
theit Arab masters permitted me to do without interruption, and could 
not help showing at this scene, that the feelings of humanity were not 
totally extinguished in their bosoms. They then hurried them off, 
and ascending through the hollow or crevice towards the face of the 
desart, they were all soon out of sight. 

There remained with the party to which I belonged, Mr. Savage, 
Clark, Horace, and Dick the cook. Mr. Savage was permitted to 
retain an old Guernsey frock, and part of a pair'of trowsers about his 
middle, which they had not pulled off: but the rest of us were entirely 
stripped. Mr. Savage, Clark, and Horace were forced to assist in 
drawing water for the camels, until all had drank their fill : then hav- 
ing filled with water a considerable number of goat skins, which had < 
oeen cut round the neck and stripped off these animals over the tail, 
leaving them otherwise as whole as when on their backs, they slung 
them by the skin of their legs on each side of the camels, after tying , 
up the neck to prevent the water escaping, by means of a small rope I 
which they fastened to the fore legs of the skin to keep it up. They ' 
next put on their baskets for the women and children to ride in: these j 
were made of camel's skin, and fixed in such a manner, with a wooden l. 
rim around them, over which the skin was sewed, that three or four 






SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 47 

could sit in them with perfect safety and ease, only taking care to 
preserve their balance. These baskets were fastened under the 
camels' bellies with a strong rope : I was obliged to assist in putting 
them .on, and was in hopes of being permitted to ride in one of them ; 
but that was not the intention of my master. I, as well as those who 
were with me, had drank a. great deal of water, while we were at the 
well, which had passed off, as before observed, without doing us any 
injury. We had been furnished also with a little milk in our water 
two or three times, which gave some relief to our hunger. The men 
had saddles just large enough for their seat: the pads are made of flat 

f)ieces of wood ; a piece of the same rises in front, being about the 
ength, breadth, and thickness of a man's hand ; an iron rim, or a 
strong wooden one, goes round on each side, forming a circle; 
covered with a piece of skin stretched and sewed tight over it. The 
saddle is then placed on the camel's back before the hump, and 
fastened tight by a rope under his belly. Thus prepared, we began 
to mount the sand hills and get up through the gulley. We were 
forced to walk and to drive the camels and keep them together, whilst 
the sand was so soft and yielding, that we sunk into it every step 
nearly to our knees. The blazing heat of the sun's rays darting on 
our naked bodies, and reflected from the sand we waded through ; the 
sharp pointed craggy rocks and stones that cut our feet and legs to 
the bone, in addition to our excessive weakness, which the dysentery 
had increased, rendered our passage up through this chasm or hollow 
much more severe than any thing of the kind we had before under- 
gone, and nearly deprived us of life. For my own part, I thought 1 
must have died before I could reach the summit, and was obliged to 
stop in the sand, until by the application of a stick to my sore back by 
our drivers, I was forced up to its level ; and there the}^ made the 
camels lie down and rest. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The author and his crew are carried on camels into the interior of the 
Desart of Zahahrah — The Arabs hold a council— The crew are sold 
and distributed — The author's remarkable dream — The skin andjksh 
are literally roasted off from his body and from the bones of his com- 
panions— Their dreadful sufferings while naked and wandering about 
the desart with their masters, subsisting enly on alittle camel's milk- 
Two Arab traders arrive. 

The Arabs had been much amused i:i -'■.serving our difficulty in 
ascending the height, and kept up a laugh while they were whipping 
us forward. Their women and children were on foot as well as them- 
selves, and went up without the smallest difficulty or inconvenience, 
though it was extremely hard for the camels to mount, and before they 
got to the top they were covered with sweat and froth. Having now 
selected five "camels for the purpose, one for each of us, thev put U3 
on behind the humps, to which we were obliged- to cling by grasping 
its long hair with both hands. The back bone of the one I v/as set 



48 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

on was only covered with skin, and seemed as sharp a«? the edge oi 
an oar's blade ; his belly, distended with water, made him perfectly 
smooth, leaving no projection of the hips to keep me from sliding of} 
behind ; and his back or rump being as steep as the roof of a house., 
and so broad across as to keep my legs extended to their utmost 
stretch, I was in this manner slipping down to his tail every moment. 
I was forced, however, to keep on, while the camel, rendered ex- 
tremely restive at the sight of his strange rider, was all the time run- 
ning about among the drove, and making a most wo*ui bellowing ; 
and as they have neither bridle, halter, or any other thing whereby 
to guide or govern them, all I had to do was to stick on as well as 1 
could. 

The Arabs, both men and women, were very anxious to know 
where we had been thrown on shore, whether to the eastward or west- 
ward ; and being satisfied by me on that point, so soon as they had ' 
placed us on the camels, and given the women directions how to 
steer, they mounted each his camel, seated themselves on the small 
round saddle, and then crossing their legs on the animal's shoulders, 
set off to the westward at a great trot, leaving us under the care of the 
women, some of whom were on foot, and urged the camels forward as 
fast as they could run, to the S. E. The heavy motions of the 
camel, not unlike that of a small vessel in a heavy head-beat sea, 
were so violent, aided by the sharp back bone, as soon to excoriate 
certain parts of my naked body ; the inside of my thighs and legs 
were also dreadfully chafed, so that the blood dripped from my heels, 
while the intense neat of the sun had scorched and blistered our 
bodies and the outside of our legs, so that we were covered with sores, 
and without any thing to administer relief. Thus bleeding and smart- 
ing under the most excruciating pain, we continued to advance in 
a S. E. direction, on a plain, flat, hard surface of sand, gravel, and 
rock, covered with small sharp stones. It seemed as if our bones 
would he dislocated at every step. Hungry and thirsty, the night 
came on, and no indication of stopping ; the cold night wind began 
to blow, chilling our blood, which ceased to trickle down our lace- 
rated legs; but although it saved our blood, yet acting on our blis- 
tered skins, it increased our pains beyond description. We begged 
to be permitted to get off, but. the women paid no attention to our dis- 
tress nor intreaties, intent only on getting forward. We designedly 
slipped off the camels, when going at a full trot, risking to break our 
necks by the fall, and tried to excite their compassion and get a drink 
of water, (which they call sherub,) but they paid no attention to oui 
prayers, and kept the camels running faster than before. 

This was the first time I had attempted to walk barefooted since 1 
was a schoolboy ; we were obliged to keep up with the camels, run- 
ning over the stones, which were nearly as sharp as gun flints, and 
cutting our feet nearly to the bone at every step. It was here that 
my fortitude and reason failed tb,support me ; I curred my fate aloud, 
and wished 1 had rushed into the sea before I gave myself up to these 
merciless beings in human forms — it was now too late. 1 would 
have put an immediate end to my existence, but had neither knife noi 
any other weapon with which to perform the deed. I searched for a 
stone, intending if I could find a loose one sufficiently large, to knock 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 49 

out my own brains with it ; but searched in vain. This paroxysm 
passed off in a minute or two, when reason returned, and I recollected 
that my life was in the hand of the power that gave it, and that "the 
Judge of all the earth would do right." Then tunning with all my 
remaining might, I soon came up with the camels, regardless of my 
feet and of pain, and felt perfectly resigned and willing to submit to 
the will of Providence, and the fate that awaited me. 

From that time forward, through all my succeeding trials and suf- 
ferings, 1 never once murmured in my heart, but at all times kept my 
spirits up, doing the utmost to obey and please those whom fortune, 
fate, or an overruling Providence had placed over me, and to per- 
suade, both by precept and practice, my unhappy comrades to do the 
same. I had, with my companions, cried aloud with pain, and begged 
our savage drivers for mercy, and when we had ceased to make a noise, 
fearing, as it were, to lose us in the dark, they stopped the camels, and 
again placing us on them as before, drove them on at full speed 
until about midnight, when we entered a small dell or valley, exca- 
vated by the hand of nature, a little below the surface of the desart, 
about from fifteen to twenty feet deep. Here they stopped the camels, 
and made them lie down, bidding us to do the same. I judge we must 
have travelled forty miles this day to the S. E. : the place was hard 
and rocky, not even sand to lie on, nor any covering to shelter us or 
keep off the cold damp wind that blew strong from the sea. 

They soon set about milking, and then gave us each about a pint 
of pure milk, warm from the camels, taking great care to divide it 
for us ; it warmed our stomachs, quenched our thirst in some mea 
sure, and allayed in a small degree the cravings of hunger. Mr. 
Savage had been separated from us, and I learned from him after- 
wards that he fared better than we did, having had a larger allowance 
of milk. Clark, Horace, and Dick the cook were still with me. We 
lay down on the ground as close to each other as we could, on the 
sharp stones, without any lee to fend off the wind from us : our bodies 
all over blistered and mangled, the stones piercing through the sore 
naked flesh almost to the ribs and other bones. These distresses, 
and our sad and desponding reflections, rendered this one of the 
longest and most dismal nights ever passed by any human beings. 
We kept shifting births, striving to keep off some of the cold during 
the nignt, while sleep, that had hitherto relieved our distresses and 
fatigues, fled from us in spite of all our efforts and solicitude to 
embrace it; nor were we able to close our eyes. 

The morning of the 11th came on at last, and our industrious mis- 
tresses, having milked a little from the camels, and allowed the young 
ones to suck, gave us about half a pint of milk among four of us, being 
just enough to wet our mouths, and then made us go forward on foot 
and drive the camels. The situation of our feet was horrible beyond 
I description, and the very recollection of it, even at this moment, makes 
my nerves thrill and quiver. We proceeded forward, having gained 
the level desart, for a considerable time, when entering a small valley, 
we discovered tnree or four tents made of coarse cloth, near which 
we were met by our masters, and a number of men whom we had not 
before seen, all armed with either a double barrelled musket, a scimi- 
tar, or dagger. They were all of the same nation and tribe, for they 



00 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

ohook hands at meeting, and seemed very friendly to each other, 
though they stopped and examined us, as if disposed to question the 
right" of property. 

It now appeared there was still some difficulty in deciding to whom 
each one of us belonged ; for seizing hold of us, some dragged one 
way and some another, disputing very loudly, and frequently draw- 
ing their weapons. It was, however, decided at last, after making us 
go different ways for the space of two or three hours with different 
men, that myself and the cook should remain, for the present, in the 
hands of our first master. They gave Clark to another, and Horace 
to a third. We had come near a couple of tents, and were certainly 
disgusting objects, being naked and almost skinless ; this was some- 
time about noon, when three women came out who had not before 
seen us, and having satisfied their curiosity by gazing at us, they 
expressed their disgust and contempt by spitting on us as we went 
along, making their faces still more horrid by every possible contor- 
tion of their frightful features ; this we afterwards found to be their 
constant practice wherever we went, until after we got off the desart. 

Towards evening, a great number of them having collected in a 
little valley, we were made to stop, and as oui bodies were blistered 
and burned to such a degree as to excite pity in the breasts of some 
of the men, they used means to have a tent cleared out for us to sit 
under. They then allowed all those of our crew present to sit under 
it, and, as may well be supposed, we were glad to meet one another 
again, miserable as we all were. Porter and Burns, who had been 
separated from me shortly after our capture, were still absent. A 
council was now held by the natives near the tent ; they were about 
one hundred and fifty men, some very old, some middle aged, and 
some quite young. I soon found they were Mohammedans, and the 
proper names by which they frequently called «ach other were Moham- 
med, Hamet, Seid, Sideullah, Ahdallah, &c. so that by these and the 
female names Fatima, Ezimah, Sarah, &c. I knew them to be Arabs 
or Moors. 

The council were deliberating about us; and having talked the 
matter over a long time, seated on the ground with their legs crossed 
under them, in circles of from ten to twenty each, they afterwards arose 
and came to us. One of the old men then addressed me; he seemed 
to be very intelligent, and though he spoke a language that I was 
unacquainted with, yet he explained himself in such a plain and dis- 
tinct manner, sounding every letter full like the Spaniards, that with 
the help of signs I was able to understand his meaning. He wanted 
to know what country we belonged to; I told him we were English; 
and as I perceived the Spanish language was in sound more like that 
which they spoke than any other 1 knew, 1 used the phrase Inglesis ; 
this seemed to please him, and he said "O Fransah, O Spaniak;': 
meaning, " or t renchmen, or Spaniards ;" I repeated we were Eng- 
lish. He next wanted to know which point of the horizon we came 
from, and 1 pointed to the north. 

They had seen our boat, which they called Zooerga, and wanted to 
know if we had come all the way in that boat: I told them no, and 
making a kind of coast,, by heaping up sand, and forming the shape 
of a vessel, into which 1 stuck sticks for masts and bowsprit, &c. 1 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 51 

gave him to understand that we had been in a large vessel, and wrecked 
on the coast by a strong wind ; then by tearing down the masts and 
covering the vessel's form with sand, 1 signified to him that she was 
totally lost. Thirty or forty of the other Arabs were sitting around 
us, paying the strictest attention to every one of my words and ges- 
tures, and assisting the old man to comprehend me. He wished to 
know where we were going, and what cargo the vessel (which I now 
found they called Sfinah) had on board. I satisfied them in the 
oest way I could on this point, telling them that I had on board, among 
other things, dollars : they wanted to know how many, and gave me 
a bowl to imitate the measure of them : this I did by filling it with 
stones and emptying it three times. They were much surprised at 
the quantity, and seemed to be dissatisfied that they had not got a 
share of them. They then wanted to know which way the vessel lay 
from us, and if we had seen any of the natives, whom they called 
Moslemin. 

This I took to be what we call Mussulmen, or followers of the 
Mohammedan doctrine, and in this I was not mistaken. I then 
explained to them in what manner we had been treated by the inha- 
bitants ; that they had got all our clothing, except what we had on 
when they found us ; all our money and provisions : massacred one of 
our number, and drove us out to sea. They then told me that they 
heard of the shipwreck of a vessel a great way north, and of the 
money, &c. but tnat the crew were drowned in el M Bahar ; this wa,s 
so near the Spanish (La Mar) for the sea. that I could not misunder- 
stand it. Thus having obtained wnat information they wanted on 
those points, they next desired to know if I knew any thing about 
Marocksh ; this sounded something like Morocco: I answered yes; 
next of the Sooltaam, (the Sultan,) to which instead of saying yes, I 
made signs of assent, for I found they did no more themselves, 
except by a cluck with the tongue. 

They wanted me to tell his name, Soo Mook, but I could not 
understand them until they mentioned Moolay Solimaan ; this I remem- 
bered to be the name of the present emperor of Morocco, as pro- 
nounced in Spanish, nearly. I gave them to understand that 1 knew 
him ; had seen him with my eyes, and that he was a friend to me and 
to my rdtion. They nex.r made me point out the direction towards 
his dominions, and hnvbg satisfied them that I knew which way his 
dominions la}' from f!& I tried to intimate to them, that if they would 
carry me there, I should be able to pay them for my ransom, and that 
of my crew. They shook their heads ; it was a great distance, and 
nothing for camels to eat or drink on the way. My shipmates, who 
wen.' with me, c/nild not understand one salable of what they said, or 
of their signs, and did not believe 'hat I wis able to communicate at 
all with them. Having finished theii C' ncil, and talked the matter 
over among themselves, they separated, bid our masters, talc a& each 
his slave, made off, every one his own way. Although from l]\o con- 
ference I lerived hopes of our getting ransomed, and imparted the 
same to my mates and crew, yet they all seemed to think I was delu- 
ding them with false expectations ; nor could I convince them of the 
contrary. We took another leave of each other, when we parted for 
the night, having travelled this day, I should guess, about fifteen 
miles, S. ft. 

C2 



62 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

1 had been so fully occupied since noon, that no thoughts of vic- 
tuals or drink had occurred to my mind. We had none of us ate or 
drank any thing this day, except about half a gill of milk each in the 
morning at daylight, and about half a pint of black beach water near 
the middle of the day. I was delivered over to an Arab named Bickri^ 
and went with him near his tent, where he made me lie down on the 
ground like a camel. Near midnight he brought me a bowl contain- 
ing about a quart of milk and water; its taste was delicious, and as 
my stomach had become contracted by long hunger and thirst, I con- 
sidered it quite a plentiful draught. 1 had been shivering with col J 
for a long time, as I had no covering nor skreen, and not even one of 
my shipmates to lie near me to keep one side warm at a time. I 
was so far exhausted by fatigues, privations, &c. that my misery 
could no longer keep me awake. 1 sank into a deep sleep, and 
during this sleep 1 was troubled in the first place with the most fright- 
ful dreams. 

I thought I was naked and a slave, and dreamed over the principal 
incidents which had already actually passed. I then thought I was 
driven by Arabs with red hot iron spears pointed at me on every 
side, through the most dreadful fire I had ever imagined, for near a 
mile, naked and barefoot; the flames up to my eyes, scorched every 
part of my skin off, and wasted away my. flesh by roasting, burning, 
and drying it off to the bones; my torments were inconceivable. I 
now thought I looked up towards heaven, and prayed to the Almighty 
to receive my spirit, and end my sufferings; 1 was still in the midst 
of the flames ; a bright spot like an eye with rays around it, appeared 
above me in the firmament, with a point below it, reaching towards 
the N. E. — I thought if I went that way I should go right, and turned 
from the S. to the N. E. ; the fire soon subsided, and I went on, still 
urged by them about me,, with their spears pricking me from time to 
time, over high sand hills and rocky steeps, my flesh dropping off in 
pieces as 1 went; then descending a deep valley, 1 thought I saw 
green trees — flowering shrubs in blossom — cows feeding on green 
grass, with horses, sheep, and asses near me ; and as 1 moved on, 1 
discovered a brook of clear running water: my thirst being excessive, 
I dragged my mangled limbs to the brook, threw myself down, and 
drank my fill of the most delicious water. When my thirst was 
quenched, 1 rolled in the brook to cool my body which seemed 
still consuming with heat ; then thanked my God in my heart for 
his mercies. 

My masters, in the mean time, kept hurrying me on in the way 
pointed out by the All-seeing eye, which was still visible in the hea- 
vens above my head, through crooked, thorny, anp! narrow paths — 
over high mountains and deep valleys — past hosts of armed men on 
horseback and on foot, and walled cities, until we met a tall young 
man dressed in the European and American manner, by the side of a 
brook, riding on a stately horse, who, upon seeing me alighted, and 
rushing forward, wild with joy, caught me in his arms, and pressed 
me to his breast, calling me by the endearing name of brother, in my 
ov i\ language — I thought I fainted in his arms from excess of joy 
and wflen 1 revived, found myself in a neat room, with a table set in 
the best manner before me, covered with the choicest meats, fruits, 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 53 

and wines, and my deliverer pressing me to eat and drink ; but find- 
ing me too much overcome to partake of this refreshment, he said, 
"take courage, my dear friend, God has decreed that you shall again 
embrace your beloved' wife and children." At this instant 1 was 
called by my master — I awoke, and found it was a dream. 

Being daylight, (Sept. 12th) he ordered me to drive forward the 
camels ; this I did for about an hour, but my feet were so much 
swelled, being lacerated by the cutting of the stones, which seemed 
as if they would penetrate my heart at every step — I could not help 
stooping and crouching down nearly to the ground. In this situation, 
my first master, Hamet, observed me; he was going on the same 
course, S. E. riding on his camel; he came near my present master, 
and after talking with him a good while, he took off the blanket from 
his back and gave it to Bickri — then coming close to me, made signs 
forme to stop. He next made his camel lie down; then fixing a 
piece of skin over his back behind the saddle, and making its two 
ends fast to the girths to keep it from slipping off, he bade me mount 
on it, while he got on his saddle and steadied me with his hand until 
the camel rose. He then went on the same course as before, in com- 
pany with three or four other men, well armed and mounted. The 
sun beat dreadfully hot upon my bare head and body, and it appear- 
ed to me that my head must soon split to pieces, as it was racking 
and cracking with excruciating pain. Though in this horrible dis- 
tress, yet I still thought of my dream of the last night — " a drowning 
man will catch at a straw," says the proverb, and 1 can verily add, 
that the very faintest gleam of hope will keep alive the declining spi- 
rits of a man in the deepest distress and misery; for, from the moment 
I began to reflect on what had passed through my mind when sleep- 
ing, 1 felt convinced that though this was nothing more than a dream, 
yet still remembering how narrowly and often 1 had escaped imme- 
diate apparent death, and believing it was through the peculiar in- 
tei position of Divine Providence, I could not but believe that the 
All-seeing eye was watching over my steps, and would in due time, 
conduct me by his unerring wisdom, into paths 'that would lead to 
my deliverance, and restoration to my family. 

I was never superstitious, nor ever did I believe in dreams or vi- 
sions, as they are termed, or even remembered them, so as to relate 
any I may have had ; but this dream made such an impression on my 
mind, that it was not possible for me remove it from my memory- 
being now as fresh as at the moment I awoke after dreaming it; and 
1 must add, that when I afterwards saw Mr. Wiltshire, I knew him to 
be the same man I had seen in my sleep : he had a particular mark 
on his chin — wore a light coloured frock coat, had on a white hat, and 
rode the same horse. From that time I thought if I could once get 
to the empire of JVlorocco, 1 should be sure to find a friend to relieve 
me and my companions, whose heart was already prepared for it by a 
superior Power. My mind was thus employed until we came to a 
little valley where half a dozen tents were pitched ; ao soon as we 
saw them, Hamet made his camel kneel down, and me to dismount ; 
he was met by several women and children, who seemed very glad to 
see him, and 1 soon found that they were his relations. He beckoned 
me to come towards his tent, for he lived there, apparently, with his 



54 CAPTAIN RILEY 9 S NARRATIVE. 

mother, and brothers and sisters, but the woman and girls would no 
suffer me to approach them, driving me off with sticks, and throwing 
stones at me ; but Hamet brought me a little sour milk and water in 
a bowl, which refreshed me considerably. 

It was about two o'clock in the day, and I was forced to remain 
broiling in the sun, without either tree, shrub, or any other shade to 
shield me from its scorching rays, until night, when Dick (the cook) 
came in with the camels. Hamet had kept Dick from the beginning, 
and made him drive the camels, but allowed him to sleep in one cor- 
ner of the tent, and gave him for the few first days, as much milk as 
he could drink, once a day ; and as he was a domestic slave, he 
managed to steal water, and sometimes sour milk, when he was dry. 

In the evening of this day 1 was joined by Hogan, and now found 
that he and myself h^d been purchased by Hamet that day, and 
that Horace belonged to an ill-looking old man, whose tent was pitch- 
ed in company. This old villain came near me, and saluted me by 
the name of Rais, asking me the name of his boy, (Horace); 1 told 
aim it was Horace, which after repeating a few times he learned so 
perfectly, that at every instant he was yelling out " Hoh Rais" for 
something or other. Hamet was of a much lighter colour than the 
other Arabs we were with, and 1 thought he was less cruel, but in 
this respect 1 found I was mistaken, for he made myself and Hogan 
lie on the ground in a place he chose, where the stones were very 
thick and baked into the ground so tight that we could not pull them 
out with our fingers, and we were forced to lie on their sharp points, 
though at a small distance, not more than fifty yards, was a spot of 
sand. This I made him understand, pointing at the same time to my 
skinless flesh, but he signified to us, that if we did not remain where he 
had ordered, we should get no milk when he milked the camels. 1 
calculate we travelled this day about thirty miles. 

Here then we staid, but not to sleep, until about the midnight hour, 
when Hamet came to us with our milk ; it was pure and warm from 
the camels, and about a pint for each. The wind blew as is usual 
in the night, and on that part of the desart the air was extremely cold 
and damp ; but its moisture on our bodies was as salt as the ocean. 
Having received our share of milk, when all was still in the tent, we 
stole to the sandy place, where we got a little sleep during the remain- 
ing part of the night. Horace's master would not permit him to come 
near me, nor me to approach him, making use of a stick, as well to 
enforce his commands in this particular, as to teach us to understand 
him in other respects. 

At daylight (Sept. 13th) we were called on to proceed. The 
families struck their tents, and packed them on camels, together 
with all their stuff. They made us walk and keep up with the camels, 
though we were so stiff and sore all over that we could scarcely 
refrain from crying out at every step : such was our agony ; still pur- 
suing our route to the S. E. In the course of the morning, I saw 
Mr. Williams; he was mounted on a camel, as i,ve had all been the 
first day, and had been riding with the drove about three hours: 1 
hobbled along towards him; his camel stopped, and I was enabled U 
take him by the hand. He was still entirely naked ; his skin haof 
|>een burned off; his whole body was so excessively inflamed, and 

4 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 35 

swelled, as well as his face, that I only knew him by his voice 
which was very feeble. He told me he had been obliged to sleep 
naked in the open air every night: that his life was fast wasting away 
amidst the most dreadful" torments ; that he could not live one day 
more in such misery ; that his mistress had taken pity on him, and 
anointed his body that morning with butter or grease; but, said he, 
"I cannot li/e ; should you ever get clear from this dreadful place, 
and be restored to your country, tell my dear wife that my last breath 
was spent in prayers for her happiness." He could say no more ; tears 
and sobs choked his utterance. 

His master arrived at this time, and drove on his camel, and I could 
only say to him, "God Almighty bless you," as I took a last look 
at him, and forgot, for a moment, while contemplating his extreme 
distress, my own misery. His camel was large, and moved forward 
with very heavy motions; as lie went from me, 1 could seethe inside 
of his legs and thighs — they hung in strings of torn and chafed flesh — 
the blood was trickling down the sides of the camel, and off his feet. 
"My God!" 1 cried, " suffer us not'to live longer in such tortures." 
T had stopped about fifteen minutes, and my master's camels had 
gained a great distance from me, so that I was obliged to run that 1 
might come up with them. My mind was so shocked with the dis- 
tresses of Mr. Williams, that I thought it would be impious for me to 
complain, though the sharp stones continued to enter my sore feet at 
every step. My master saw me and stopped the drove for me to 
come up; when I got near him he threatened me, shaking his, stick 
over my head, to let me know what I had to expect if I dared to com- 
mit another fault. He then rode off, ordering me and Hogan to drive 
the camels on as fast as we could. About an hour afterwards he came 
near us, and beckoned to me to come to him, which I did. A tall old 
man, nearly as black as a negro, one of the most ill-looking and dis- 
gusting I had yet seen, soon joined my master, with two young men, 
whom 1 found afterwards were his sons : they were also joined by a 
number more on camels and well armed. 

After some time bartering about me, 1 was given to the old man, 
whose features showed every sign of the deepest rooted malignity in 
his disposition. And is this my master? thought I ; Great God ! 
defend me from his cruelty ! He began to go on : he was on foot; so 
were his two sons ; but they walked faster than camels, and the old 
man kept snarling at me in the most surly manner, to make me keep 
up. I tried my very best, as I was extremely anxious to please him, 
if such a thing was possible, knowing the old adage of "the devil is 
good when he is pleased," was correct, when applied to human beings ; 
but I could not go fast enough for him; so alter he had growled and 
kept on a considerable time, finding I could not keep up with him 
he came behind me and thrust me forward with hard blows repeatedly 
applied to my exposed back, with a stout stick he had in his hand. 
Smarting and staggering under my wounds, I made the greatest 
efforts to get on, but one of his still more inhuman sons, (as I then 
thought him,) gave me a double barrelled gun to carry, with his pow- 
der horn and other accoutrements : they felt very heavy, yet af*er I 
had taken them, the old man did not again strike me, but went oc 



56 

towards the place where he meant to pitch his tent, leaving me to fol- 
low on as well as I could. 

The face of the desart now appeared as smooth as the surface of 
the ocean, when unruffled by winds or tempests. Camels could.be 
seen on every direction, as soon as they came above the horizon, so 
that there was no difficulty in knowing which way to go, and 1 took 
care to keep sight of my new master's drove, until I reached the 
valley, in which he had pitched his tent. I was broiling under the 
sun and tugging along, with my load, which weighed me down to the 
earth, and should have lain down despairing, had I not seen Mr. Wil- 
liams in a still worse plight than myself. 

Having come near the tent about four P. M. they took the load 
from me, and bid me lie down in the shade of the tent. I then beg- 
ged for water, but could get none. The time now came on for 
prayers, and after the old man and his sons had performed this cere- 
mony very devoutly, they went away. 1 was in so much pain, 1 could 
scarcely contain myself, and my thirst was more painful that it had 
yet been. I tried to soften the. hearts of the women to get me a little 
water, but they only laughed and spit at me ; and to increase my dis- 
tresses as much as they could, drove me away from the shade of the 
tent, so that 1 was forced to remain in the scorching sun for the 
remainder of this long day. 

A little after sunset my old and young masters returned ; they 
were joined by all the men that were near, to the number of from 
twenty to thirty, and went through their religious ceremonies in a 
very solemn manner, in which the women and little children did not 
join them. Soon after this was over, Clark came in with the camels 
and joined me ; it would have been pleasant to be together, but his 
situation was such that it made my heart ache still worse than it did 
before ; ne was nearly without a skin ; every part of his body exposed ; 
his flesh excessively mangled, burnt, and inflamed. "I am glad to 
see you once more, sir," said Clark, " for 1 cannot live through the 
approaching night, and now beg of you, if you ever get to our country 
again, to tell my brothers and sisters how I perished." I comforted 
him all I could, and assured him he would not die immediately; that 
the nourishment we now had, though very little, was sufficient to keep 
us alive tor a considerable time, and that though our skins were roasted 
off and our flesh inflamed, we were yet alive without any signs of 
putrefaction on our bodies ; that I had great hopes we should all be 
carried in a few days from thia desart to where we might get some 
food to nourish us, and as I had learned a little of the language of 
these people, (or savages,) 1 would keep trying to persuade them 
that if they would carry us up to the Moorish dominions, I should be 
able to pay them a great ransom for all the crew ; for an old man had 
told me that as soon as it should rain they would journey to the N. 
E. and sell us. 

The night came on ; cold damp winds succeeded to the heat of the 
day, and 1 begged of my old master to be permitted to go under the 
corner of his tent, (for it was a large one,) and he seemed willing, 
pointing oift a place for us to lie down in, but the women would not 
consent, and we remained outside until the men had milked the camels., 
They then gave us a good drink of milk, near a quart each, and after 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA O 

the women were asleep, one of my young masters, named Omar, 
(the same tha* made me carry his gun the preceding day to keep his 
lather from beating me.) took pity on our distresses, and came ana 
made us creep under one corner of the tent, without waking the 
women, where some soft sand served us for a bed, and the tent kept 
off the cold air from us; and here we slept soundly until morning. 
As soon as the women awoke, and found us under the tent, they were 
for thrusting us out with blows, but I pretended to be asleep, and the 
old man looking on us, seemed somewhat concerned, fearing (as I 
thought) he might lose his property. He told his women to let us 
alone, and as he was absolute, they were forced to obey him, though 
with every appearance of reluctance. 

After they had milked the camels, and taken a drink themselves, 
they gave us what remained, that is to say, near a pint between us. 
f hey did not move forward this day, and suffered us to remain under 
the corner of the tent in the shade all the while, and the next night, 
and even gave us a piece of a skin to cover us with in part, and keep 
off the night wind. They gave us a good drink of milk when they 
drank themselves on the second night, and Omar had given us about 
a pint of water each, in the middle of the day; so that the inflamma- 
tion seemed to have subsided in a great degree from our flesh and feet. 

This attention, together with the two good nights' rest, revived us very 
much — these were the 14th and 15th days of September. I had not 
seen any of my unfortunate shipmates except Clark, and did not know 
where they were during the day we remained still. The camels were 
driven off early in the morning by a negro slave and two of the smal 
boys, and did not return until in the night — they went out to the 
east to find shrubs for them to feed on. Clark was obliged, near 
night, to go out and pull up some dry thorn bush shrubs and roots to 
make a fire with. At the return of the camels, the negro slave (who 
was a stout fellow, named Boireck) seated himself by the fire, stretch- 
ing out his legs on each side of it, and seeing us under the tent, 
thought to drive us out; but as he was not permitted by our old 
master, he contented himself by pointing at us and making compa- 
risons : then sneeringly addressing me by the name of Rais, or chief, 
would set up a loud laugh, which, with the waggery he displayed in 
his remarks on us, kept the whole family and several strangers who 
had assembled on the occasion, in a constant roar of laughter until 
midnight, the hour for milking the camels. He would poke our sore 
flesh with a sharp stick, to make sport, and show the Arabs what mise- 
rable beings we were, who could not even bear the rays of the sun 
(the image of God, as they term it) to shine upon us. 

Being tormented in this manner, my companion Clark could 
scarcely contain his Avrath : "It was bad enough, (he said,) to be 
reduced to slavery by the savage Arabs; to be stripped, and skinned 
alive, and mangled, without being obliged to bear the scoffs and 

derision of a d d negro slave." I told him I was very glad to find 

he still had so much spirits left, and could feel as if he wished to 
jevenge an insult — it proved to me that he felt better than he did the 

§ receding night, and as I was so much relieved myself, my hopes of 
eing able to endure our tortures and privations increased, adding, 
"let the negro laugh if he can take any pleasure in it ; I am willing 



58 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

he should do so, even at my expense : he is a poor slave himself, 
naked and destitute, far from his family and friends, and is only trying 
to gain the favour of his masters and mistresses, by making sport of 
us, whom he considers as much inferior to him as he is to them." 
Clark, however, could not be reconciled to this mode of mockery and 
sport; but the negro kept it up as long as we remained with his mas- 
ter, every night, and always had many spectators to admire his wit, 
and laugh at his tricks and buffoonery. This reminded me of the 
story of Samson, when the Philistines wished to make sport with him ; 
he was blind, and iney supposed him harmless ; but he became so 
indignant, that he was willing to suffer death to be revenged of them; 
the difference was, he had strength to execute his will, — we had not. 
From the 15th to the 18th, we journeyed every day to the S. E 
about thirty miles a day, merely to find a few shrubs in the small 
scattered valleys for the camels, and consequently for the inhabitants 
to subsist on. As we went on in that direction, the valleys became 
less frequent and very shallow ; the few thorn bushes they produced 
were very dry, and no other shrubs to be found ; the camels could 
not fill their stomachs with the leaves and shrubs, nor with all that 
they could crop off, though they pulled away the branches as thick 
as a man's finger. The milk began to fail, and consequently we had 
to be scanted, so that our allowance was reduced to half a pint a day, 
and as all the water they had taken from the well was expended, they 
could give us no more of that precious article. There were belong- 
ing to this tribe four mares that were the general property ; they were 
clean limbed, and very lean ; they fed them on milk every day, and 
every one took his turn in giving them as much water every two days 
as they would drink. These mares drank up the last of our water on 
the 19th, nor would my master allow me to drink what little was left 
in the bowl, not exceeding half a pint, and it was poured out as a drink 
offering before the Lord, wnile they prayed for rain, which indeed 
they had reason to expect, as the season they knew was approaching, 
when some rain generally happens. I supposed our distance from 
the sea, or the well that we had left, to be three hundred miles in a 
direct line, and feared very much that we should not find water at 
any other place. The sustenance we received was just sufficient to 
keep the breath of life in us, but our flesh was less inflamed than in 
the first days, for we had continued to lie under a part of the tent at 
night, and also in the day-time when it was pitched, which was gene- 
rally the case about two o'clock in the afternoon. We had, however, 
become so emaciated, that we could scarcely stand, and they did not 
attempt to make me or Clark do any kind of work, except gather a 
few dry sticks, towards evening, to light a fire. The swellings had 
also gone down in some measure from our feet, as there was not sub- 
stance enough in us to keep up a running sore ; all the moisture in 
them seemed to dry away, and we could support the prickings and 
cutting of the stones better, as we became lighter and more inured to 
it. We had endeavoured to find some of the kind of root that was 
met with near the sea coast, but none could be procured. In e- y 
valley we came to, the natives would run about and search under e 
tnorn bush, in hopes to find some herb, for they were nearly as hun- 
gry as ourselves. In gome places a small plant was found, resem- 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 59 

ft 

bVing what we call shepherd's sprout; they were torn up by them and 
devoured in an instant. I got one or two, but they proved very bitter, 
and were impregnated, in a considerable degree, with salt: these 
plants were so rate as to be scarcely of any benefit. There were also 
found by the naiives, in particular places, « small ground root, whose 
top showed itself like a single short spear of grass, about three inches 
above the ground ; they dug it up with a stick; it was of the size of 
a small walnut, and in shape very much like an onion; its taste 
fresh, without any strong flavour; but it was very difficult to find, 
and afforded us very little relief, as we could not get more than half a 
dozen in a whole day's search, and some days none at all. 

On the 19th of September, in the morning, the tribe having held a 
council the night before, at which I could observe my old master was 
looked up to as a man of superior judgment and influence, they began 
a route back again towards the sea, and the well near which we were 
first made slaves ; — this convinced me that no fresh water could be 
procured nearer, and as the camels were almost dry, I much feared 
that myself and my companions must perish before we could reach it. 
I had been in the habit every day since 1 was on the desart, of reliev- 
ing my excessive thirst by the disagreeable expedient before men- 
t'oned ; but that resource now failed me for the want of moisture, nor 
had any thing passed through my body since the day I left the well. 
We had journeyed for seven and a half days S. E. and I concluded it 
would require the same time to return ; but on the 18th we had 
steered N. E. and on the 19th we took a N. W. direction, and in the 
course of the day we entered a very small valley, where we found a 
few dwarf thorn bushes, not more than two feet high ; on these we 
found some snails, most of which were dead and dry, but I got about 
a handful that were alive, and when a fire was kindled, roasted and 
ate them : Clark did the same, and as we did not receive more than 
a gill of milk each in twenty-four hours, this nourishment was very 
serviceable. 

On the morning of the 20th we started as soon as it was light, and 
drove very fast all the day. We had no other drink than the camels' 
urine, which we caught in our hands as they voided it ; its taste was 
bitter, but not salt, and it relieved our fainting spirits. We were 
forced to keep up with the drove, but in the course of the day found 
a handful of snails each, which we at night roasted and ate. Our 
feet, though not much swollen, were extremely sore; our bodies and 
limbs were nearly deprived of skin and flesh, for we continually 
wasted away, and the little we had on our bones was dried hard, and 
stuck fast to them. My head had now become accustomed to the 
heat of the sun, and though it remained uncovered, it did not pain me. 
Hunger, that had preyed upon my companions to such a degree as to 
ejuise them to bite off the flesh from their arms, had not the same 
effect on me. I was forced in one instance to tie the arms of one of 
my men behind him, in order to prevent his gnawing his own flesh; 
and in another instance, two of them having caught one of the boys, 
a lad about four years old, out of sight of the tents, were about dash- 
ing his brains out with a stone, for the purpose of devouring his flesh, 
when luckily at that instant I came up and rescued the child, with 
some difficulty, from their voracity. They were so frantic with hun- 



60 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

ger, as to insist upon having one meal of his flesh, and then they said 
they would be willing to die; for they knew that not only themselves, 
but all the crew would be instantly massacred as soon as the murder 
should be discovered. I convinced them that it would be more manly 
to die with hunger than to become cannibals and eat their own orotner 
human flesh, telling them, at the same time, I did not doubt but our 
masters would give us sufficient nourishment to keep us alive, until 
they could sell us. 

On the 20th we had proceeded with much speed towards the N. 
W. or sea shore ; but on the 21st we did not go forward. This day 
I met with Mr. Savage, Horace, Hogan, and the cook; their masters' 
tents were pitched near ours ; they were so weak, emaciated, and sore, 
that they could scarcely stand, and had been carried on the camels 
for the last few days. I was extremely glad to see them, and spoke 
to all but Horace, whose master drove me off with a stick one way, 
and Horace another, yelling most horribly at the same time, and lay- 
ing it on Horace's back with great fury. 1 soon returned to our tent, 
and felt very much dejected; they all thought they could not live 
another day : there were no snails to be found here, and we had not 
one drop of milk or water to drink. Horace, Hogan, and the cook 
were employed in attending their masters' camels, in company with 
one or two A rabs, who kept flogging them nearly the whole of the time. 

My old master did not employ me or Clark in the same way, 
because he had two negro slaves to do that work ; he was a rich man 
among them, and owned from sixty to seventy camels ; he was also a 
kind of priest, for every evening he was joined, in his devotions, by 
all the old and most of the young men near his tent. They all first 
washed themselves with sand, in place of water; then wrapping them- 
selves up with their strip of cloth and turning their faces to the east, 
my old master stepped out before them, and commenced by bowing 
twice, repeating at each time " Allah Houakibar ;" then kneeling 
and bowing his head to the ground twice ; then raising himself up on 
his feet, and repeating, " Hi el Allah Sheda Mohammed Rahsool 
Allah" bowing himself twice ; and again prostrating himself on the 
earth as many times, then " Allah Houakibar" was three times 
repeated. He was always accompanied in his motions and words by 
all present who could see him distinctly, as he stood before them. 
He would then make a long prayer, and they recited all together 
what I afterwards found to be a chapter in the Koran ; and then all 
joined in chanting or singing some hymn or sacred poetry for a con- 
siderable time. This ceremony being finished, they again prostrated 
themselves with their faces to the earth, and the service concluded. 

About the middle of this day two strangers arrived, riding two 
camels loaded with goods : they came in front of my master's tent, 
and having made the camels lie down, they dismounted, and seated 
themselves on the ground opposite the tent, with their faces turned 
the other way. There were in this valley six tents, besides that of 
my masters. 






SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 61 



CHAPTER IX. 



Two Arabian merchants are persuaded by the author to purchase him 
and four of his suffering; companions—They kill a camel, and pre~ 
pare to set out for Morocco across the Desart. 

All the men had gone out a hunting on their camels, carrying their 
arms with them; that is to say, seeking for plunder as 1 concluded. 
My old and young mistresses went to see the strangers : they had no 
water to carry, as is customary, but took with them a large skin, with 
a roll of tent cloth, to make them a shelter. The strangers rose as 
the women drew near, and saluted them by the words " Labez, Labez- 
Salem, Labez- Alikom ;" oeace, peace be with you, &c. and the women 
returned these salutations in similar words. They next ran to our 
tent, and took a couple of sticks, with the help of which, and the 
skin and tent cloth, they soon made an awning for the strangers. 
This done, they took the bundles which were on the camels, and 
placed them in this tent, with the saddles and all the other things the 
strangers had brought. The two strangers had a couple of skins that 
contained water, which the women hung up on a frame they carried 
from our tent. 

During the whole time the women were thus employed, the stran- 
gers remained seated on the ground beside their guns, for thev had 
each a double barrelled musket, and so bright that they glittered in 
the sun like silver. The women having finished their attentions, 
seated themselves near the strangers, and made inquiries, as near as 
I could comprehend, by saying, "where did you come from? what 

foods have you got? how long have you been on your journey ?" 
lc. Having satisfied their curiosity on these points, they next came 
to me, and the old woman (in whom as yet I had not discovered one 
spark of pity) told me that Sidi Hamet had come with blankets and 
blue cloth to sell; that he came from the Sultan's dominions, and 
that he could buy me and carry me there, if he chose, where I might 
find my friends, and kiss my wife and children. 

Before my master returned I went to the tent of Sidi Hamet, with 
a wooden bowl, and begged for some water; showing my mouth, 
which was extremely parched and stiff, so much so, that I could with 
difficulty speak. He looked at me, and asked if 1 was el Rais (the 
captain.) 1 nodded assent. He told his brother, who was with him, 
to give me some water, but this his benevolent brother would not con- 
descend to do; so taking the bowl himself, he poured into it near a 
quart of clear water, saying, " Sherub Rais;" that is, drink, captain, 
ot chief. 1 drank about half of it, and after thanking him and implo- 
ring the blessing of heaven upon him for his humanity, I was going to 
take the rest of it to our tent, where Clark lay stretched out on his 
back, a perfect wreck of almost naked bones; his belly and back 
nearly collapsed, and breathing like a person in the last agonies of 
death : but Sidi Hamet would not permit me to carry the water away, 
bidding me drink it myself. I pointed out 10 him my distressed com- 
panion ; this excited his pity, and he suffered me to give Clark the 
remainder, 



62 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

The water was perfectly fresh, and revived him exceedingly ; it was 
a cordial to his desponding soul, being the first fresh water either oi 
us had tasted since we left the boat : his eyes, that were sunk deep in 
their sockets, brightened up — " This is good water (said he) and must 
have come from a better country than this; if we were once there, 
(added he,) and 1 could get one good drink- of such water, I could 
die with pleasure, but now 1 cannot live another day." Our masters 
soon returned, and began, with others of the tribe who had received 
the news of the arrival of strangers, to form circles and chat with them 
and each other : this continued till night, and I presume there were 
at least two hundred men present. After dark they began to sepa- 
rate, and by 10 o'clock at night none remained but my old master's 
familj, and three or four of their relations, at our tent. On this 
occasion we were turned out into the open air, -and were obliged to 
pass the night without any shelter or covering. It was a long and 
tedious night; but at the time of milking the camels, our old master 
coming to us, as if afraid of losing his property by our death, and 
anxious we should live, dealt out about a pint of milk to each: this 
milk tasted better than any I had yet drank ; it was a sweet and sea 
sonable relief, and saved poor Clark from dissolution. 

This was the first nourishment of any kind our master had given us 
in three days, and I concluded from this circumstance that he had 
hopes of selling us to the strangers. The next morning Sidi Hamet 
came towards the tent, and beckoned me to come there ; he was at 
a considerable distance, and I made the best of my way to him, where 
he bade me sit down on the ground. 1 had by this time learned 
many words in their language, which is ancient Arabic, and could 
understand the general current of their conversati®n, by paying strict 
attention to it. 

He now began to question me about my country, and the manner 
in which I had come here. I made him understand that 1 was an 
Englishman, and that my vessel and crew were of the same nation. 
I found he had heard of that country, and I stated as well as I could 
the manner of my shipwreck — told him we were reduced to the lowest 
depth of misery ; that I had a wife and five children in my own coun- 
try, besides Horace, whom I called my eldest son, mingling with my 
story sighs and tears, and all the signs of affection and despair which 
these recollections and my present situation naturally called forth. 

1 found him to be a very intelligent and feeling man; for although 
he knew no language but the Arabic, he comprehended so well what 
I wished to communicate, that he actually shed tears at the recital of 
my distresses, notwithstanding that, among the Arabs, weeping is 
regarded as a womanish weakness. He seemed to be ashamed of his 
own want of fortitude, and said that men who had beards like him 
ought not to shed tears ; and he retired, wiping his eyes. 

Finding I had awakened his sympathy, I thought if I could rouse 
his interest by large offers of money, he might buy me and my com- 
panions, and carry us up from the desart — so accordingly the first 
time I saw him alone, I went to him, and begged him to buy me, and 
carry me to the Sultan of Morocco, or Marocksh, where I could find 
a friend to redeem me. He said no, but he would carry me to Swea- 
iah, describing it as a walled town and seaport. I told him I had 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 63 

■een the Sultan, and that he was a friend to my nation. He then 
asked me many other questions about Mohammed Kahsool, or holy 
prophet. 1 bowed, and pointed to the east, then towards heaven, as 
if J thought he ascended there. This seemed to please him, and he 
asked me how much money I would give him to carry me up; upon 
which I counted over fifty pieces of stones, signifying 1 would give as 
many dollars for myself and each of my men. " I will not buy the 
others," said he, "but how much more than fifty dollars will you give 
me for yourself, if 1 buy you and carry yo l to your friends?" I told 
him one hundred dollars. " Have you any money in Swearah" asked 
he by signs and words, " or do you mean to make me wait till you 
get it from your country?" I replied that my friend in Swearah would 
give him the money so soon as he brougnt me there. ''You are 
deceiving me," said he. I made the mos* solemn protestations of 
my sincerity. " I will buy you then," said he, " but remember, if 
you deceive me, I will cut your throat," (making a motion to that 
effect.) This I assented to, and begged of him to buy my son 
Horace also ; but he would not hear a word about any of my com- 
panions, as it would be impossible, he said, to get them up off the 
desart, which was a great distance. " Say nothing about it to your 
old master," signified he to me, "nor to my brother, or any of the 
others." He then left me, and I went out to seek for snails to relieve 
my hunger. I saw Mr. Savage and Hogtn, and brought them with 
Clark near Sidi Hamet's tent, where we sat down on the ground. 
He came out to see us, miserable object* as we were, and seemed 
very much shocked at the sight. I told my companions 1 had great 
Hopes we should be bought by this man, ai.d carried up to the culti- 
vated country; but they expressed great fears that they would be left 
behind. Sidi Hamet asked me many questions about my men — 
wished to know if any of them had died, and if they had wives and 
children. I tried all 1 could to interest him in their behalf, as well as 
my own, and mentioned to him my son, whom he had not yet seen. 
I found my companions had been very much stinted in milk as well 
as myself, and that they had no water: thty had found a few snails, 
which kept them alive ; but even these now failed. 

The 24th, we journeyed on towards the N. W. all day, the whole 
tribe, or nearly so, in company, and the strangers also kept in com 
pany with us. When my mistress pitched her tent near night, she 
made up one for Sidi Hamet also. I begged of him on my knees, 
every time I had an opportunity, for him to buy me and my compan- 
ions, and on the 25th I had the happiness to see him pay my old 
master for me: he gave him two blankets or coarse haicks, one blue 
cotton covering, and a bundle of ostrich feathers, with which the old 
man seemed much pleased, as he had now three suits of clothing. 
They were a long time in making the bargain. 

This day Horace came with his master to fetch something to our 
tent: at his approach, I went to meet him, and embraced him with 
tears. Sidi Hamet was then fully convinced that he was my son. I 
had found a fcw snails this morning, and divided them between Mr. 
Savage and Horace before Sidi llamet, \/ho signified to me in the 
afternoon that he intended to set out with me in two days for Swea 
rah; that he had tried to buy my son, but could not succead. for his 



64 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

master would not sell him at any price : then said I, " let me stay in 
nis place ; I will be a faithful slave to his master as long as 1 live ; 
carry him up to Swearah; my friend will pay you for him, and send 
him home to his mother, whom [ cannot see unless I bring her son 
with me." '*■ You shall have your son, by Allah," said Sidi Hamet. 
The whole tribe was gathered in council, and I supposed relative to 
this business. In the course of the afternoon the debated the mat- 
ter over, and seemed to turn it every way; — they fought, besides, 
three or four battles with fists and scimitars, in their warm and loud 
discussions in settling individual disputes; but in the evening I was 
toid that Horace was bought, as the tribe in council had forced his 
master to sell him, though at a great price. I now redoubled my 
entreaties with my new master to buy Mr. Savage and Clark, telling 
him that I would give him a large sum of money if he got us up safe; 
but he told me he should be obliged to carry us through bands of 
robbers, who would kill him for our sakes, and that his company was 
not strong enough to resist them by force of arms — I fell down on my 
knees, and implored him to buy Mr. Savage and Clark, at any rate, 
thinking if he should buy them, he might be induced to purchase the 
remaining part of the crew. 

My mind had been so busily employed in schemes of redemption, 
as almost to forget my sufferings since Sidi Hamet had bought me. 
He had given me two or three drinks of water, and had begged mHk 
for me of my former master. On the morning of the 26th, I renewed 
my entreaties for him to purchase Mr. Savage, Clark, and Hogan — 
the others I had not seen since the second or third day after we were 
in the hands of the Arabs. I did not know where they were, and 
consequently could not designate them to my master Hamet, though 
I told him all their names. Mr. Savage and Hogan looked much 
more healthy and likely to live than Clark, and Sidi Hamet insisted 
that it was impossible that Clark could live more than three days, and 
that if he bought him, he should lose his money. I told him no, he 
should not lo e his money, for whether he lived or died, T would pay 
nim the same amount. 

Clark was afflicted with the scalded head, rendered a raw sore in 
consequence of his sufferings, and his hair, which was very long, was, 
of course, in a very filthy condition: this attracted the attention of 
Sidi Hamet and his brother, the latter of whom was a very surly and 
cross looking fellow. They pushed the hair open with their sticks, 
and demanded to know what was the occasion of that filthy appear- 
ance. Clark assured them that it was in consequence of his exposure 
to the sun; and as. that was the reason 1 had assigned for the horrible 
gores and blisters that covered our scorched bodies and half-roasted 
flesh, they said, it might possibly be so, but asked why the heads of 
the rest of us were not in the same state. They next found fault with 
my shins, which had been a long time very sore, and they examinee? 
every bone to see if all was right in its place, with the same cautious 
circumspection that a jockey would use, who was about buying a 
horse ; while we, poor trembling wretches, strove with all possible 
care and anxiety to'hide every fault and infirmity in us, occasioned 
by our dreadful calamities and cruel sufferings, cheered by the hope 
of redemption. 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 66 

Sidi Hamet informed me this day, that he had bought Mr. Savage 
and Clark, and had bargained for Hogan, and that he was going to 
kill a camel that night for provisions on our journey. Our water had 
been expended for "two days, and all the families around us were also 
destilute. I did not get more than a gill of milk in twenty-four 
hours, and a small handful of snails — these served in a little degree 
to support nature, and I waited with the greatest impatience for the 
killing of the camel which had been promised, hoping to have a meal 
of meat once more before I died. Clark and I had been busy all the 
afternoon in gathering dry sticks to make a fire, and a little after 
midnight my master came to me and showed me where to carry the 
wood we had collected ; it was in a little gulley that it might not be 
seen by our neighbours, whilst our former master and two present 
ones were leading a camel up to the same place. This camel, on its 
arrival, they made lie down in the usual manner : it was a very old 
one, and so poor, that he had not been able to keep pace with the 
drove during the journey, and Sidi Hamet told me he had bought 
him for one blanket. 

The camel being down, they put a rope round his under jaw, with a 
noose in it; then hauling his head round on the left side, made the 
rope fast to his tail, close up to his body; his neck was so long, that 
the under jaw reached within six inches of the tail : they then brought 
a copper kettle that would contain probably three gallons. Thus pre- 
pared, Sidi Hamet cut open a vein on the right side of the camel's 
neck, close to his breast; the blood streamed out into the kettle, and 
soon filled it half full ; this they set over the fire and boiled, stirring 
it all the lime with a stick, until it became thick, and of the consis- 
tence of a beef's liver; then taking it off the fire, they passed it to 
me, saying, " coole, Riley," (eat Riley.) I did not wait for a second 
bidding, but fell to, together with Clark : our appetites were voracious, 
and we soon filled our stomachs with this, to us, delicious food. 

Notwithstanding the lateness of the hour, and the privacy observed 
in killing this meager camel, many of our hungry neighbours had 
found it out, and came to assist in the dressing and eating of the 
animal. They insisted on having some of the blood, and would 
snatch out a handful in spite of all our masters could do to hinder 
them; they were then very officious in assisting to take off the hide, 
which was soon done, and the entrails were rolled out ; they next 
proceeded to put all the small entrails into the kettle, without clean- 
ing them of their contents, together with what remained of the liver 
and lights ; but they had no water to boil them in. Then one of 
them went to the camel's paunch, which was very large, and cutting 
a slit in the top of it, dipped out some of the filthy water in a bowl: 
this they poured into the kettle, and set it a boiling, stirring it round, 
and^pow and then taking out a piece, and biting off an end, to ascer- 
tain whether it was cooked enough. During this time, half a dozen 
hungry wretches were at work on the camel, which they would not 
lerve under pretence of friendship for our masters, for they would not 
suffer strangers to work, when in their company, and it being dark, 
they managed to steal and convey away, before morning, more than 
one half or the camel's bones and meat, with half his skin. Our 
.nasters were as hungry as any of the Arabs, yet though they had 
D 



66 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

bought the camel, they could scarcely get a bite of the intestines 
without fighting for it; for what title or argument can prevail against 
the ravenous appetite of a half-starved man? Though our masters 
saw the natives in the very act of stealing and carrying off their meat, 
they could not prevent them, fearing worse consequences than losing 
it ; it being a standing maxim among the Arabs to feed the hungry 
if in their power, and give them drink, even if the owner of the pro- 
visions be obliged to rob himself and his own family to do it. 

Notwithstanding the boiled blood we had eaten was perfectly fresh, 
yel our thirst seemed to increase in consequence of it. As soon as 
daylight appeared, a boy of from fourteen to sixteen years old came 
running up to the camel's paunch, and thrusting his head into it up to 
his shoulders, began to drink of its contents ; my master observing 
him, and seeing that my mouth was very dry, made signs for me to 
go and pull the boy away, and drink myself; this I soon did, putting 
my head in like manner into the paunch ; the liquid was very thick, 
but though its taste was exceedingly strong, yet it was not salt, and 
allayed my thirst : Clark next took a drink of the same fluid. 

This morning we were busied in cutting off" the little flesh that 
remained on the bones of our camel, spreading it out to dry, and 
roasting the bones on the fire for our masters, who cracked them 
between two stones, and then sucked out the marrow and juices. 
Near noon, Horace was brought where I was ; he was very hungry 
and thirsty, and said he had not ate any thing of consequence for the 
last three days. Our common master said to me, " this is your son 
Rais," and seemed extremely glad that he had been able to purchase 
him, giving him some of the entrails and meat he had boiled and saved 
for the purpose. I in my turn gave him some of our thick camel's 
water, which he found to be delicious; so true it is, that hunger and 
thirst give a zest to every thing. Burns was brought up soon after, 
and my master asked me if he was one of my men ; 1 told him he 
was: "his master wants to sell him," said Sidi Hamet, " but he is 
old and good for nothing," added he; "yet 1 can buy him for this 
blanket," showing me « very poor old one. I said, " buy him, he is 
my countryman, I will repay you as much for him as for the others :" 
so he went out, and bought him from his master, and then gave him 
something to eat. Poor Burns was much rejoiced to find there was 
a prospect of recovering his liberty, or at least of getting where he 
might procure something to eat and drink. During this day, the 
natives flocked round in great numbers, men, women, and children, 
and what with begging and stealing reduced our stock of meat to less 
than fifteen pounds before night. 

Sidi Hamet now told me that he had bought Hogan: this was in 
the afternoon, and he came to us. I congratulated him on our 
favourable prospects, and our master gave him something to eat; but 
his former master, Hamet, now demanded one blanket more for him 
than had been agreed on, as he was a stout fellow : my master would 
not be imposed upon, nor had he indeed a blanket left. 1 begged 
very hard for poor Hogan, but it was to no purpose, and his old mas- 
ter drove him off, laying on his back with a stick most unmercifully 
Hamet's eyes seemed fairly to flash fire as he went from us. Hogan's 
hopes had been raised to a high pitch — they were now blasted, and 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 67 

he driven back like a criminal before his brutal owner, to his former 
miserable abode. He informed me that he had never as yet, since 
our captivity, known what it was to sleep under the cover of a tent; 
that his allowance of milk had been so scant, that he did not doubt 
but he must have died with hunger in a day or two : he was extremely 
wasted and sore on every side. My heart bled for him when 1 saw 
the blows fall on his emaciated and mangled frame; but I could no' 
assist him, and all I could do was to turn round and hide my face, so 
as not to witness his further tortures. 

This day was employed in preparing for our departure : our mas- 
ters made me a pair of sandals with two thicknesses of the camel's 
skin; they also made Horace a pair in the same manner; but Clark 
and Burns were fitted with single ones. They had in the morning 
given me a small knife, which I hung to my neck in a case : this the\ 
meant as a mark of confidence; and they also gave me charge of theL 
stuff, the camels, and the slaves. I soon perceived, however, thai 
although I had this kind of command, yet I was obliged to do all the 
work. My men were so far exhausted, that even the hope of soon 
obtaining their liberty, could scarcely animate them to the least 
exertion. 

In the evening Sidi Hamet told me Aaron (Mr. Savage) would be 
with us by and by : — that we should start in the morning for Swea- 
rah, — and that he hoped, through the blessing of God, I should once 
more embrace my family : he then told me how much he had paid 
for each one of us — that he had expended all his property, and that 
if I had not told him the truth, he was a ruined man — that his brother 
was a bad man, and had done all he could to prevent his buying us, 
but that he had at last consented to it, and taken a share. 

He next made me repeat, before his brother, my promises to him 
when we should arrive at Swearah, and my agreement to have my 
throat cut if my words did not prove true. Late in the evening Mr. 
Savage joined us : he knew before that 1 was going to set out, and 
thought he should be left behind : he was very thankful to be unde- 
ceived in this particular, and to get at the same time, something to 
eat; for Sidi Hamet had saved some of the camel's intestines, which 
he immediately gave him. 

After having satisfied his hunger in some measure, he began to 
express his doubts as to where we were going; declaring, that he did 
not believe a word these wretches said; — he could not understand 
them, and said he did no* believe I could ; and suggested a hundred 
doubts and difficulties on the subject, that his ill-boding imagination 
supplied him with. He ch<] not like the price I had agreed to give for 
our liberty, — it was too much, and I should find nobody willing to 
advance it for me, as I was poor. 

We had started what water remained in the paunch of the camel, 
tmck as it was, into a goat skin, straining it through our fingers to 
keep out the thickest of the filth. The night of the 27th, as near aa 
we could keep count by marking the day of the month on our legs 
with a thorn, we passed in the open air, five of us together. 

At daylight on the morning of the 28th, we were called up and made 
to load our camels. I had strong hopes we were going to ride, but i 
now appeared not to be the case. All the Arabs in the valley set ou 



68 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

in the morning with their camels, to drive them to water : they had not 
been watered since the 10th, having gone without any for eighteen 
days. They were now at least two days' journey from the well where 
we had first been seized, towards which tney then steered in a N. W. 
direction. I mention this circumstance, to show the time these won- 
derful animals can live without drink, and supply their masters with 
milk, even when nearly destitute of vegetable substances ; and with 
water from their paunches after death. 

Soon after sunrise, our masters bade us drive the camels up the 
bank: at this moment Archibald Robbins came with his master to see 
us, and I supposed his master had brought him with the view of selling 
him. 1 had not before seen him for fourteen days, and he had only 
arrived soon enough to witness our departure: I now on my knees 
begged, as I had done before of Sidi Hamet, to purchase him ; but he 
said he could not, and so hurried us on. 

1 told Robbins what my present hopes were, and that if I should 
succeed in getting clear, I would use my utmost endeavours to pro- 
cure his and the rest of the crew's redemption. 1 begged him to 
continue as long as he could with his present master, who, for an 
Arab, appeared to be a very good man; and to encourage Mr. Wil- 
liams and all the others to bear up with fortitude, and support life as 
long as it was possible, in the hope, that through my help or some 
other means, they might obtain their redemption in a short time ; and 
having taken my leave of him in the most affectionate manner, (in 
which my companions followed the example,) we set out on our jour- 
ney, but with heavy hearts, occasioned by the bitter regret we felt at 
leaving our fellow sufferers behind, although 1 had done all in my 
power to make them partakers of our better fortune. 



CHAPTER X. 

The author and/our of his companions set out to cross the Desart — Their 
sufferings — They come to a spring of fresh water — Description of its 
singular situation. 

From, the time I was sold to Sidi Hamet, my old master and his 
family shunned me as they would a pestilence ; and the old villain 
actually stole one piece of our meat from me, or rather robbed me of 
it, just as we were setting out; for he cut it off the string by which it 
was tied to the camel, in spite of my efforts to prevent him. Our mas- 
ters were accompanied for a considerable distance by several men and 
women, who were talking and taking leave, going on very slowly. 
We were ordered to keep their camels together, which J thought 1 
did ; yet when they were finally ready to depart, they found their big 
camel had marched off a great distance, probably two miles from us, 
following a drove of camels going to the N. W. ; Sidi Hamet bade 
me fetch him back, pointing him out: notwithstanding my weak and 
exhausted state, I was obliged to run a great way to come up with 
him; but my rising spirits supported me, and 1 succeeded in hanging 
ftim back, where the other camels were collected by my shipmates. 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 69 

Sidi Harriet and Seid had two old camels on which they nad rode, 
and they had bought also a young one that had not been broke for 
riding. We were joined here by a young Arab named Abdallak; he 
had been Mr. Savage's master, and owned a camel and a couple ol 
goat skins to carry water in; but these, as well as those of our mas- 
ters, were entirely empty. Sidi Hamet had a kind of a pack saddle 
for each of his old camels; but nothing to cover the bones, of his 
young one. Having fitted them as well as he could, (for he seemed 
to be humane,) he placed Mr. Savage, Burns, and Horace on the big 
one, and myself and Clark on the other old one. Seid and Abdallah 
took their seats on the one which belonged to Abdallah, and Sidi 
Hamet mounted the young one himself to break him, sitting behind 
the hump on his bare back; and thus arranged and equipped, we set 
off on a full and long striding trot. It was about nine A. M. when we 
had mounted ; and this trot had continued for about three hours, when 
we stopped a few minutes in a little valley to adjust our saddles. 
Here Sidi Hamet pulled out a check shirt from one of his bags and 
gave it me, declaring he had stolen it, and had tried to get another 
for Horace, but had "not been able : "put it on," said he, "your poor 
back needs a covering;" (it being then one entire sore.) 1 kissed 
his hand in gratitude, and thanked him and my Heavenly Father for 
this mercy. Clark, a day or two before, had got a piece of an old 
sail, that partly covered him; Burns had an old jacket, and Horace 
and Mr. Savage, a small goat skin added to their dress — so that we 
were all, comparatively, comfortably clad. We did not stop here 
long, but mounted again, and proceeded on our course to the east- 
ward on a full trot, which was continued till night ; when coming to 
a little valley, we found some thorn bushes and halted for the night. 

Here we kindled a fire, and our masters gave us a few mouthfuls of 
the camel's meat, which we roasted and ate. As we had drank no 
water for the last three days, except a very little of what we had taKen 
from the camel's paunch, and which was now reduced to about four 
quarts, we, as well as our masters, suffered exceedingly for the want 
of it, and it was thereupon determined to make an equal distribution 
of it among the whole party; which was accordingly done with an 
impartial hand. This we poor sufferers made out to swallow, foul 
and ropy as it was, and it considerably relieved our parched throats ; 
and then, finding a good shelter under a thorn bush, notwithstanding 
our unabated pains, Ave got a tolerable. night's sleep. We had travel- 
led this day steady at a long trot, at the rate, I judged, of between 
seven and eight miles an hour: making a distance of sixty-three miles 
at the lowest computation. 

Before daylight on the morning of the 28th, we were called up and 
mounted on the camels as before, and we set off on the long trot, on 
the same course, i. e. about east, as on the preceding day. The same 
smooth hard surface continued, with now and then a little break, oc- 
casioned by the naked heads of rocks just rising above the plain, and 
forming in some places small ledges. Near one of these, we alighted 
a few minutes about noon, for our masters to perform their devotions; 
and we allayed our thirst by drinking some of the camels' urine, which 
we caught in our hands : our masters did the same, and told me it 
was good for our stomachs. The camels took very long steps, and 



70 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

their motions being heavy, our legs, unsupported by. stirrups or any 
thing else^ would fly Backwards and forwards, chafing across their 
hard ribs at every step; nor was it possible for us to prevent it, so 
that the remaining flesh on our posteriors, and inside of our thighs and 
legs, was so beat, and [Herfflly pounded to pieces, that scarcely any 
remained on our bones;' which felt as if they had been thrown out of 
their sockets, by the continual and sudden jerks they experienced 
during this longest of days. It seemed to me as though the sun 
would never go down, and when at last it did, our masters had not 
yet found a place to lodge in; for they wished, if possible, to find a 
spot where a few shrubs were growing, in order that the camels might 
browse a little during the night. They stopped at last after dark, in 
a very small valley, for they could find no better place ; here they 
kindled a little fire, anc A gave us about a pound of meat between us, 
which we greedily devoured, and then allayed our thirst in a similar 
manner as before mentioned. 

We had started before daylight this morning, and had made but 
one stop of about fifteen minutes in the course of the whole day until 
dark night, having travelled at least fifteen hours, and at the rate of 
seven miles the hour, making one hundred and five miles. Here 
in our bare-bone and mangled state, we were forced to lie on the naked 
ground, wirhout the smallest shelter from the wind, which blew a vio- 
lent gale all night frorr the north — suffering in addition to the cold, 
the cravings of hunger and thirst, and the most excruciating pains in 
our limbs and numerous sores; nor could either of us close our eyes 
to sleep; and I cannot imagine that the tortures of the rack can ex- 
ceed those we then experienced. Sidi Hamet and his two compan 
ions, who had been accustomed to ride in this manner, thought 
nothing of it ': nor did they even appear to be fatigued ; but when I 
showed him my sores in the morning, and the situation of my ship- 
mates, he was much distressed, and feared we would not live. He 
told me we should come to good water soon, when we might drink as 
much as we wanted of it, and after that we would not travel so fast. 

We were placed on our camels soon after daylight, (this was the 
29th,) having nothing to eat, and drinking a little camel's water, 
which we preferred to our own : its taste, as I before observed, though 
bitter, was not salt; and they void it but seldom in this dry and 
thirsty country. Proceeding on our journey at a long trot, about 
nine o'clock in the irn rning, we discovered before us what seemed 
like high land, as we were seated on the camels; but on our approach, 
it proved to be the opposite bank of what appeared once to have been 
a river or arm of the s^a, though its bed was now dry. At about 10 
o'clock, we came to the bank nearest us ; it was very steep, and four 
or five hundred feet de^p, and in most places perpendicular or over- 
hanging. These banks must have been washed, at some former period, 
either by the sea or a liver; which river, if it was one, does not now 
exist. After considerable search, our masters found a place where 
our camels could descend into it, and having first dismounted, and 
made us do the same, we drove them down. When we had descended 
the most difficult part of the bank, Seid and Abdallah went forward 
(with their guns) to search for a spring of fresh water, which Sidi 
Hamet told me wa3 not very far distant. He now made me walk 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. '1 

along with him, and let the others drive on the camels slowly after us ; 
for they, as well as ourselves, were nearly exhausted. He then asked 
me a great many questions respecting my country, myself, and family ; 
and whether I had any property at home ; if I had been at Swearah, 
and if 1 told him the truth concerning my having a friend there who 
would pay money for me? He said also, that both himself and his 
brother had parted with all their property to purchase us, and wished 
me to be candid with him, for he was "my friend." " God (said he) 
will deal with you, as you deal with me." 1 persisted in asserting 
that I had a friend at Swearah, who would advance any sum of money 
I needed, and answered his other questions as well as I was able ; 
evading some I did not choose to answer, pretending I did not under- 
stand them. "Will you buy Clark and Burns? (said he,) they are 
good for nothing." They certainly did look worse, if possible, than 
the rest of us. I told him they were my countrymen, and my brothers, 
and that he might depend upon it I would ransom them, it he would 
carry us to the empire of Morocco and to the Sultan. "No, (said he,) 
the Sultan will not pay for you, but I will carry you to Swearah to 
your friend: what is his name?" "Consul," said I. It seemed to 
please him to hear me name my friend so readily ; and after teaching 
me to count in Arabic, and by my fingers up to twenty, (which was 
ashreen,) he told me I must give him two hundred dollars for myself, 
two hundred dollars for Horace, and for the others 1 must pay one 
hundred dollars each — showing me seven dollars he had about him, 
to be certain that we understood each other perfectly ; and he next 
made me understand that I must pay for our provisions on the road, 
over and above this sum. He then made me point out the way to 
Swearah, which 1 was enabled to do by the sun and trade wind, mak- 
ing it about N. E. "Now, (said he,) if you will agree before God the 
most High, to pay what I have stated, in money, and give me a double- 
barrelled gun, I will take you up to Swearah; if not, I will carry you 
off that way," pointing to the S. E. "and sell you for as much as I 
can get, sooner than carry you up across this long desart, where we 
must risk our lives every day for your sakes ; and if you cannot com- 
ply with your agreement and we get there safe, we must cut your 
throat and sell your comrades for what they will bring." I assured 
him that I had told him the truth, and called God to witness the sin- 
cerity of my intentions, not in the least doubting if I could once 
arrive there, I should find some one able and willing to pay the sum 
they demanded. "You shall go to Swearah, (said he, taking me by 
the hand,) if God please." He then showed me the broken pieces of 
my watch, and a plated candlestick, which he said he had bought 
from some person who had come from the wreck of my vessel. The 
candlestick had belonged to Mr. Williams. He said he bought the 
articles before he saw me, and wished to know what they were worth 
in Swearah ; I satisfied him as well as I could on this point. During 
this conversation we kept walking on about east, as the bed of the 
river ran near the northern bank, which was very high, and Sid; 
Hamet looked at me as if his eye woudd pierce my very soul, to ascer- 
tain the secrets of my heart, and discover whether I was deceiving 
him or not ; and he became satisfied that I was sincere. 
By this time we had arrived nearly opposite the place where he 



72 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

calculated the spring was. and his brother and Abdallah being not faj 
off, he hailed them to know if they had found it ; to which they 
answered in the negative. After searching about an hour in the bank, 
he discovered it, and calling to me, for 1 was below, bade me come 
up to where he was, at the foot of a perpendicular cliff. 1 clambered 
up over the fragments of great rocks that had fallen down from above, 
as fast as my strength would permit, and having reached the spot, and 
seeing no signs of water, the tears flowed fast down my cheeks, for 
l concluded the spring was dried up, and that we must now inevitably 
perish. Sidi Hamet looked at me, and saw my tears of despair — 
" Look down there," said he, (pointing through a fissure in the rock.) 
1 looked and saw water, but the cleft was too narrow to admit of a 
passage to it : then showing me another place, about ten or fifteen 
yards distant, where I could get down to another small spring — "Sherub 
Kiley, (said he,) it is sweet." I soon reached it, and found it sweet 
indeed ; and taking a copious draught, I called my companions, who 
scrambled along on their way up, exclaiming with great eagerness, 
" Where is the water ? for God's sake! where is it? Oh, is it sweet?" 
I showed it to them, and they were soon convinced of the joyful fact 
This water was as clear and as sweet as any I had ever tasted. 

Sidi Hamet now allowed us to drink our fill, while Seid and Abdal 
lab were driving the four camels up the bank by a zigzag kind of d 
foot way, from which the stones and other impediments had been 
before removed, apparently with great trouble and labour. This 
spring, the most singular perhaps in nature, was covered with large 
rocks, fifteen to twenty feet high, only leaving a narrow crooked pas- 
sage next the high bank behind it, by which a common sized man 
might descend to get at it. It might contain, I should calculate, not 
more than fifty gallons of water; cool, clear, fresh, and sweet, and I 

E resume it communicated with the one that was first shown me 
etween the nocks, which was much smaller. The camels had been 
driven to within fifty yards below the spring ; cur masters then took 
off the large bowl which they carried for the purpose of watering the 
camels : then bringing a goat skin near the spring, made me fill it 
with the water, my three shipmates passing it up to me in the bowl. 
I kept admonishing my companions to drink with moderation, but at 
the same time I myself continued to take in large draughts of this 
delicious water, without knowing when to stop ; in consequence of 
which I was seized with violent pains in my bowels, but soon found 
relief. 

It was here that I had an opportunity of ascertaining the quantity 
of water which a camel could drink at one draught. We filled a large 
goat skin fifteen times, containing at least four gallons, and every 
drop of this water was swallowed down by our largest camel, amount- 
ing to the enormous quantity of sixty gallons, or two barrels. The 
men kept crying out, "Has not thai camel done yet? he alone will 
drink the spring dry." It was in effect drained very low ; but titill 
held out, as the water kept continually running in, though slowly. 
This camel was a very large and old one, about nine feet high, stout 
in proportion, and had not drank any water for twenty days, as 1 was 
informed by Sidi Hamet : but the other camels did not drink as much 
in proportion. 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 73 

Having finished watering them, we filled two goat skins with the 
water, which had now become thick and whitish ; as the rock in which 
the basin was formed for holding it, appeared to be chalky, soft, and 
yielding. We descended this bank, and after preparing the camels, 
we were mounted thereon, and proceeded as before, but along to the 
eastward, in this arm of the sea. I call it an arm of the sea, because 
there could be no doubt in the mind of any one who should view it, 
that these high banks were worn and washed by water; they were 
from six to eight or ten miles distant from each other, and the level 
bottom was incrusted with marine salt. The bank rises four or five 
hundred feet, and nearly perpendicular, in most places. The broken 
fragments of rock, gravel, and sand, that had been undermined by the 
water, and tumbled down, filled a considerable space near the cliffs, 
and did not appear to have boen washed by the water for a great num- 
ber of years. I could not account for the incrustation of salt (as we 
must have been at least three hundred miles from the sea ; this bottom 
or bed running from the east northwardly to the west or S. VV.) in 
any other way, than by supposing the sea water had once overflowed 
this level ; that it had since either retired from that part of the coast, 
or formed a bar across its mouth, or outlet, and thus excluded itself 
entirely ; and that the sea air combining with the saline deposit or 
sediment, continued this incrustation. 

The curious and interesting springs, before mentioned, are situated 
on the right or north side of this dry bay or river, about one hundred 
feet below the surface of the desart, and from three hundred and fifty 
to four hundred feet from the bed or bottom. There was not the 
smallest sign of their ever having overflowed their basins ; thereby 
leaving it a mystery how they ever should have been discovered, as 
there was no rill to serve as a clue. 

Our masters now hurried on to the eastward, to find a place to 
emerge from this dreary abyss, still more gloomy, if possible, than 
the face of the desart. As we passed along, the salt crust crumbled 
under the feet of our camels, like the thin crust of snow. We came 
at length to a spot in the bank at a kind of point, where we ascended 
gradually from one point to another until within, probably, two hun- 
dred feet of the top ; here we were obliged to dismount, and drive, 
coax, and encourage the camels to go up. The ascent was very 
steep, though in zigzag directions, and the fiat rock over which the 
camels were forced to climb, threw them down several times, when 
our masters would encourage them to get up again, by singing and 
making repeated trials; helping them over the bad places by a partial 
lifting, and begging the assistance of God and his prophet most fer- 
vently, as well as of all the saints. 

Having at length reached the surface of the desart, they stopped a 
few minutes to let the camels breathe, and also that we might come 
up, for Mr. Savage and Clark could not keep pace with the rest of us, 
on account of their severe pains inconsequence of overcharging their 
stomachs with water. The desart here had the same smooth appear- 
ance we had before observed: no rising of the ground, nor any rock, 
tree, or shrub, to arrest the view within the horizon — all was a dreary, 
solitary waste, and we could not but admire and wonder at the good- 
ness of Providence in oroviding a reservoir of pure fresh water, to 
D2 



*4 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

quench the thirst of the traveller and his camel, in this dry, salt, and 
torrid region, and we felt an inexpressible gratitude to the Author of 
our being, for having directed our masters to this spot, where our 
lives had been preserved and refreshed by the cool delicious spring, 
which seemed to be kept there by a continual miracle. 

We had not gone more than eight miles from the bank, (in a N. 
VV. direction,) before we stopped for the night: here we found no 
lee to screen us from the strong winds, nor bush for the camels to 
browse on. 1 reckon we had travelled five hours this morning, at 
the rate of seven miles an hour, before reaching the bank, and five 
miles after getting down it, before we came to the spring ; making it 
forty miles to, and ten miles from the spring to where we halted for 
the night, so that this day's march was altogether at least fifty miles. 

The dry bed or bottom before mentioned, had probably been an 
inlet or arm of the sea that never was explored by Europeans, or any 
other civilized men; yet it must have had an outlet; and that outlet 
must be to the southward of us, and if so, its mouth must have been 
at least three hundred miles distant. 

Here we ate the remainder of our camel's meat : — we had no milk ; 
for neither of our masters' camels yielded any, and our share of meat 
was not more than about an ounce each. 

I judged by the height of the north star above the horizon that we 
were about in the latitude of twenty degrees north. 1 now experienced 
that to have only one want supplied, made us feel the others as less 
supportable than before; for although we had drank as much fresh 
water as we could contain, and our thirst was in a great measure 
allayed, still we were rendered extremely uneasy by the gnawings of 
hunger, which, together with our sufferings from the cold and piercing 
winds, made this a long and restless night. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Journeying on the Desart — they are hospitably entertained by Arabs* 
and come to a well of fresh water. 

On the morning of the 30th we startecKvery early ; three of us rode, 
while the other two walked ; taking our turns every three hours, or 
thereabouts. They let the camels walk all this day, but their long 
legs, and the refreshment they had enjoyed at the spring, enabled 
them to step along so fast and briskly, that those of us who were on 
foot, were obliged to be on a continual small trot in order to keep up 
with them : the wind at the same time blowing very strong directly 
against us, and our course being nearly N. YV. 

About two o'clock, P. M. Sidi Hamet said to me, "Riley, shift 
Gemel ;" (I see a camel ;) he was very much rejoiced at it, and so 
were his companions ; but neither 1 nor my companions could per- 
ceive any thing of the kind above the horizon for two hours after 
this. Our masters had altered their course to about east, and at 
length we all saw a camel, appearing like a speck in the horizon, out 
ire did not reach the travellers, who were with a large drove of camelsi 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 75 

until sunset. Having; come up with the men, they invited our mas- 
ters to go home with them ; the invitation was accepted, and we 
drove our camels along, following them as they went towards their 
tents : — it was dark and quite late before we reached them, which 
were four in number. 

We stopped at a small distance from the tents, and were obliged to 
pluck up a few scattered shrubs, not thicker than a straw, to make a 
fire with. Our masters had given us neither meat nor drink this day. 
I begged for some water, and they gave us each a very scanty drink. 
We had travelled full fourteen hours this day, and at the rate of about 
three miles an hour, making a distance of about forty miles. We 
were now in a most piteous situation, extremely chafed and worn 
down with our various and complicated sufferings, and were now to 
lie on the hard ground without the smallest screen — not even a spot 
of sand on which to rest our wearied limbs ; we had been promised, 
however, something to eat by our host, and about 11 o'clock at night 
Sidi Hamet called me and gave me a bowl containing some boiled 
meat, which I divided into five heaps, and we cast lots for them. 
This meat was very tender, and there was just enough of it to fill 
our stomachs : after eating this, we had scarcely lain down when 
they brought us a large bowl filled with milk and water. This was 
indeed sumptuous living, notwithstanding our pains and the severely 
cold night wind. 

On the morning of the first of October we were roused up early 
to pursue our journey. Sidi Hamet then called me aside, and gave 
me to understand that this man had got my spy-glass, and wanted to 
know what it was worth. I requested him to show it to me, which 
ne did : it was a new one I had bought in Gibraltar, and it had not 
been injured. The Arab owner, though he did not know the use of 
it, yet as the brass on it glittered, he thought it was worth a vast sum 
of money. Sidi Hamet had only seven dollars in money, having 
invested the rest of his property in the purchasing of us, and was not 
able to buy the glass ; — his fancy was as much taken with it, however, 
as was that of the owner. They had also several articles of clothing 
in their possession, which gave me reason to infer that we could not 
be a great distance from the place where our vessel was wrecked ; 
but there was no method of calculating to any degree of certainty, 
as they all move with such rapidity in their excursions, that they seem 
not to know whither, or what distances they go, nor could 1 find out 
any thing from this man concerning the wreck. Taking our leave 
from this truly hospitable man, we pursued our course N. W. on the 
level desart. 

Our masters had been very uneasy all the preceding day, on 
account of meeting with no land marks to direct their course: they 
were in the same dilemma this day, directing their camels by the 
winds and bearing of the sun; frequently stopping and smelling the 
sand, whenever they came to a small sandy spot, which now and then 
occurred, but we did not come across any loose drifting sand. We 
took turns in riding and walking, or rather trotting, as we had done 
the day before, until the afternoon, when our masters walked, (or 
rather ran,) and permitted us to ride. 

About four o'clock P. M. we saw, and soon fell in with a drove of 



76 CAPTAIN RILEY S NARRATIVE. 

camels, that had been to the northward for water, and were then goin^ 
in a S W. direction with skins full of water, and buckets for drawing 
and watering the camels : their owners very civilly invited our mas 
ters to take up their lodgings with them that night, and we went in 
company with them about two hours to the south, where falling in 
with a very extensive but shallow valley, we saw about fifty tents 
pitched, and going into the largest clear place, unloaded and fettered 
our camels, to let them browse on the leaves and twigs of the small 
shrubs that grew there, or on the little low moss, with which the 
ground was, in many places, covered. As we went along near the 
tents, the men and women called me el Rats, and soon gathered around 
with their children to look at us, and to wonder. Some inquired 
about my country, my vessel, my family, &c. Having satisfied their 
curiosity, they left us to gather slicks to kindle our masters' fire ; this 
done, we found, after considerable search, a soft spot of sand to lie 
down upon, where we slept soundly until about midnight, when we 
were aroused, and each of us presented with a good drink of milk : 
this refreshed us, and we slept the remainder of the night, forgetting 
our sores and our pains. I reckon we had travelled this last day about 
forty miles, on a course of about N. W. 

On the 2d of October we set out, in company with all these fami- 
lies, and went north fifteen or twenty miles, when they pitched Iheir 
tents, and made up a kind of a shelter for our masters with two pieces 
of tent cloth joined together by thorns, and supported by some sticks. 
Our masters gave us a good drink of water about noon, and at mid- 
night milk was brought from all quarters, and each of us had as 
much as he could swallow, and actually swallowed more than our 
poor stomachs could retain. 

The tribe did not move, as is customary, on the 2d of October, 
waiting, as Sidi Hamet said, for the purpose of feasting us. They 
gave us as much milk as we could drink on the night of the second. 
Here our masters bought a sheep, of which animals this tribe had 
about fifty, and they were the first we had seen; but they were so 
poor, that they could with difficulty stand and feed upon the brown 
moss which covered part of the face of the valleys hereabouts, and 
which moss was not more than one inch high. This tribe, not unlike 
all the others we had seen, took no nourishment, except one good 
drink of milk at midnight, and a drink of sour milk and water at mid- 
day, when they could get it. 

On the morning of the 3d of October, our masters took leave oi 
this hospitable tribe of Arabs, who not only fed them, but seemed 
desirous that we, their slaves, should have sufficient nourishment also, 
and gave us liberally of the best they had. Our masters had made a 
trade with them, and exchanged our youngest camel for an old one 
that was lame in his right fore foot, and one that was not more than half 
grown. The old one they called Coho, (or the lame,) and the young 
one Goyette, (or the little child.) The sheep our masters purchased 
was tied about the neck with a rope, and I was obliged to lead it until 
about noon, when we came to a low valley, with some small bushes 
in it: in the midst there was a well of tolerable good water. Here 
we watered the camels, and as the sheep could go no farther, they 
idlled it, and put its lean carcass on a camel, after placing its entrails 



ST/FFERINGS IN AFRICA. 77 

(which they would not allow me time to cleanse) into the curcass- 
This well was about forty feet deep, and dug out among the surround- 
ing roots. 



CHAPTER XII. 

They arrive amongst immense mountains of driving sand — Their ex- 
treme sufferings — Their masters find and steal some barley, and re- 
store it again. 

Having watered our camels, and filled two skins with water, 
*nd drank as much as we needed, they mounted Horace on the young 
camel, and all the others being also mounted, we proceeded on towards 
the N. W. at a long walk, and sometimes a trot, driving the old lame 
camel before us until dark night, and I think we travelled thirty-five 
miles this day. The entrails of the sheep were now given us for our 
supper ; these we roasted on a fire we made for the purpose, and ate 
them, while our masters finished two of the quarters. 

We lay this night without any screen or shelter, and early in the 
morning of the 4th, we set off on our journey, all on foot, driving our 
camels before us, on the same kind of flat surface we had hitherto 
travelled over : but about 10 A. M. it began to assume a new aspect, 
and become sandy. The sand where we first entered it, lay in small 
loose heaps, through which it was very difficult to walk, as we sank 
in nearly to our knees at each step : this sand was scorching hot. The 
camels were now stopped, and all of us mounted on them, when on 
their rising up, we saw before us vast numbers of immense sand hills, 
stretching as far as the eye could reach eastward, and from the north 
to the south, heaped up in a most terrific manner; we soon arrived 
among them, and were struck with horror at the sight: — huge moun- 
tains of loose sand, piled up like drifted snow, towered two hundred 
feet above our heads on every side, and seemed to threaten destruc- 
tion to our whole party : not a green or even a dry bush or shrub of 
any kind in view to relieve the eye ; here was no path to guide our 
footsteps, nor had we a compass to direct our course, obstructed by 
these dreadful barriers. The trade winds, which had hitherto given 
us so much relief on our journey, by refreshing our bodies when 
heated by the rays of an almost perpendicular sun, and which had 
served, in some measure, to direct our course — even these winds, 
which now blew hke a tempest, became our formidable enemy :— 
the loose sand flew before its blasts, cutting our flesh like hail stones, 
and very often covering us from each other's sight, while the gwsts 
(which followed each other in quick succession) were rushing by. 

We were here obliged to dismount, and drive the camels up the 
sandv steeps after our masters, who went on before to look out a 
practicable passage. The camels, as well as ourselves, trod deep in 
the sand, and with great difficulty ascended the hills; but they went 
down them very easily, and frequently on a long trot, following our 
masters. Sidi Jlamet, Seid, and Abdallah, seemed full of apprehen 
sions fc their own and our safety, and were very careful of thei 
camels. 



78 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

Thus we drove on until dark, when coming to a space where the 
sand was not so much heaped up, being like a lake surrounded by 
mountains, we saw a few shrubs : here we stopped foi the night, 
unloaded and fettered our camels, whose appetites were as keen, 
apparently, as ours, for they devoured the few leaves, together witn 
the shrubs, which were as thick as a man's finger. We next prepared 
a kind of shelter with the saddles and some sand for our masters and 
ourselves, to keep off in some measure the fierce and chilling blasts 
of wind, and the driving sand which pierced our sores and caused us 
much pain. Having kindled a fire, our masters divided the meat 
that remained of the sheep : — It was sweet to our taste, though but 
a morsel, and we pounded, chewed, and swallowed all the bones, and 
afterwards got a drink of water : — then lying down on the sand, we 
had a comfortable night's sleep, considering our situation. 1 reckon 
we had made thirty-five miles this day, having travelled about eight 
hours before we got among the heavy sand hills, at the rate of three 
miles an hour, and five hours among the sand hills, at the rate of two 
miles an hour. We were all afflicted with a most violent diarrhoea, 
brought on, no doubt, by excessive drinking and fatigue. 

At daylight on the morning of the 5th, 1 was ordered to fetch the 
camels, and took Mr. Savage and Clark with me ; and the two old 
ones being fettered, that is, their two fore legs being tied within 
twelve inches of each other, they could not wander far; we soon 
found them, and I made the one 1 found kneel down, and having 
taken off its fetters, mounted it with a good stick in my hand for its 
government, as the Arabs of the desart use neither bridle nor halter, 
but guide and drive them altogether with a stick, and by words. Mr. 
Savage having found the big camel, took off ms fetters, intending to 
make him kneel down in order to get on his back; but the old lame 
camel, which had hitherto carried no load, and which had occasioned 
us much trouble, in forcing him to keep up with the others, when on 
our march, now set off on a great trot to the south : — the young one 
followed his example, so did Abdallah's, and the big one started also, 
running at their greatest speed. Seeing the panic of the other camels, 
I endeavoured to stop them by riding before them with my camel, 
which was the most active and fleet ; but they would not stop — dodg- 
ing me every way ; my camel also tried to get rid of its load by run- 
ning, jumping, lying down, rolling over, and striving to bite my legs ; 
but I made shift to get on again before he could rise, and had got 
some miles from where I had started, keeping near, and frequently 
before the other camels, which appeared to be very much frightened!. 
Our masters had watched us, and when the camels set off, had start- 
ed on a full run after them ; but had been hid from my view by the 
numerous sand hills, over and among which we passed. — Finding 1 
could not stop the others, and fearing 1 should be lost myself, I stop- 
ped the one I was on, and Sidi Harriet soon coming in sight, called 
to me to make my camel lie down. He mounted it, and after inquir- 
ing which way the other camels went, (which were now out of sight.) 
and telling me to follow his tracks back to our stuff, he set off after 
theni on full speed : — Seid and Abdallah followed him on foot, running 
as fast as possible. I returned ; and picking up a few skins that had 
'olted off from the little camel, I joined Mr. Savage and Clark, and 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 79 

we reached the place where we had slept, but much fatigued; and 
nere we remained for two or three hours before our masters returned 
with the camels. 

We had during this interval tasted the bark of the roots of the 
shrubs which grew on the sand near us — it was bitter, but not ill 
flavoured, and we continued to eat of it until the runaway camels were 
brought back ; it entirely cured our diarrhoea. They had overtaken 
the camels with much difficulty, and the creatures were covered with 
sweat and sand. I expected we should receive a flogging as an atone- 
ment for our carelessness in letting the big camel go, that had been 
fettered, and in particular, that Mr. Savage would be punished, whom 
I did not doubt they had seen, when he let his camel escape. So 
as soon as they got nigh, 1 began to plead for him ; but it was all to 
no purpose, for they whipped him with a thick stick (or goad) most 
unmercifully. Mr. Savage did not beg as I should have done in our 
situation, and in a similar case, and they believed he had done it ex- 
pressly to give them trouble, and continued to call him Fonte, (i. e. a 
bad fellow,) all the remaining part of the journey. Having settled 
this affair, and put what stuff they had on the camels, we mounted 
them and proceeded, — shaping our course as before, to the N.N. VV. 
as near as the mountains of sand would permit. It was as late as 
nine o'clock when we started, and at eleven, having made about three 
leagues, winding round the sand hills on a trot, we were obliged to 
dismount. The hills now stood so thick, that great care was neces- 
sary to prevent getting the camels into an inextricable situation 
between them, and our masters went on ahead, two of them at a con- 
siderable distance, to pick the way, and one to direct us how to go : — 
the latter keeping all the time in sight. The sand was heated (as it 
had been the preceding day) by the rays of the sun, to such a degree 
that it burned our feet and legs, so that the smart was more severe 
than the pain we had before experienced, from our blisters and 
chafing : — -it was like wading through glowing embers. 

During the whole of this day, we had looked for shrubs, or some 
green thing to relieve the eye; but not a speck of verdure was to be 
seen. We had no food ; our water was nearly exhausted, and we saw 
no sign of finding an end to these horrid heaps of drifting sands, or 
of procuring any thing to relieve our fatigues and sufferings, which 
were now really intolerable. We continued on our route, however, 
as near as circumstances would permit, N. N. W. until about nine 
o'clock in the evening, and stopped to rest among the high and dreary 
sand heaps, without a shrub for our camels to eat. I calculated we 
had gone this day from 9 to 11 o'clock, twelve miles, and from that 
time till we stopped, about two miles an hour, making in all thirty- 
two miles. We nad nothing to eat; our masters, however, gave us a 
drink of water, and bein^ fatigued beyond description, we soon sank 
down and fell asleep, fhappened to awake in the night, and hearing 
a heavy roaring to the northward of us, concluded it must be a violent 
gust of wind, or a hurricane, that would soon bury us in the sand for 
ever. I therefore immediately awakened mv companions, who were 
more terrified at the noise even than myself, for a few moments ; but 
when we perceived that the sound came no nearer, I was convinced 
(as the wind did not increase) that it must be the roaring of the sea 



SO CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

Against the coast not far off. This was the first time we had heard 
the sea roar since the 10th of September ; and it proved to us that our 
masters were going towards the empire of Morocco, as they had pro- 
mised. My comrades were much rejoiced at being undeceived on 
that subject, for they had all along continued to suspect the contrary, 
notwithstanding 1 had constantly told them that the courses we steered 
could not fail of bringing us to the coast. On the sixth, early in the 
morning, we started, and I found, by inquiring of Sidi Hamet, that 
our conjectures were true ; that we were near the sea, and that the 
roaring we heard (and which still continued) was that of the surf: he 
added, " you will get no more milk," which I thought he regretted 
very miich. We continued on our course, labouring among the sand 
hills until noon, when we found, that on our right, and ahead, they 
became less frequent, but on our left there was a string of them, and 
very high ones, stretching out as far as the eye could reach. The 
sand hills through which we had passed rested on the same hard and 
flat surface 1 have before mentioned, without being attached to it; for 
in many places it was blown off, leaving naked the rocks and baked 
soil between the towering drifts. 

About noon we left these high sands, and mounting on the camels, 

Eroceeded along southward of them, where the sand was still deep, 
ut not high, on about an east course. Near this line of sand hills, 
our masters discovered two camels — they bore about N. E. and we 
made directly for them as fast as possible. On a near approach we 
observed they were loaded, and our masters now took off the sheaths 
from their guns and primed them anew ; and upon coming near the 
camels, they dismounted and made us do the same. We saw no hu- 
man being. 

The camels had large sacks on their backs, made of tent cloth, 
and well rilled with something ; there was also a large earthen pot lash- 
ed on one of them, and two or three small skin bags. Seid and Abdal- 
lah drove these camels on with ours, observing strict silence, while 
Sidi Hamet was searching for the owner of them with his double bar- 
relled gun, cocked and primed. Mr. Savage was on the young camel, 
and not being able to keep up, was a mile or more behind; when Sidi 
Hamet found the owner of the camels asleep on the sand near where 
Mr. Savage was. He went towards him, keeping his gun in readi- 
ness to fire, until he saw the other had no fire-arms, and was fast asleep ; 
when stepping carefully up, he snatched a small bag from near the 
sleeper's head, and went slowly away with it until past the fear of 
waking him. He then assisted in driving Mr. Savage's camel along, 
and they soon came up with us, where Seid and Abdallah had made 
the two loaded camels lie down between some small hillocks of sand. 
They untied the mouth of one of the sacks, and behold its contents 
were barley ! This was the first bread stuff we had seen, and it gave 
us new hopes. They poured out about fifty pounds of it, I should 
guess, and put into a large leather bag of their own ; then tying up the 
neck of the sack again, they made the camels get up with their loads. 
They now began to examine the contents of the small bags, and found 
them to consist of a number of small articles : but the one that was 

aken from near the Arab's head was partly filled with barley meal. 

They were all overjoyed at this discovery, and immediately poured out 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 81 

some of it into a bowl, mixed it with water, and ate it ; then giving us 
about a quart of water between us, with a handful of this meal in it, 
making a most delicious gruel, they hurried us on to our camels, 
and set off to the S. E. on a long trot, leaving the strange camels to 
themselves. 

We had not proceeded more than half an hour, before we saw a man 
running swiftly in chase of us, and hallooing to make our masters 
stop ; they knew he must be the owner of the camels they had rob- 
bed, and paid no other attention to him than to push on the camels 
faster. Sidi Hamet now told me that that fellow was a " poor devil-— 
he has not even a musket," said he, "and he let me take this bag 
while he was asleep." The man gained on us very fast. I was afraid 
he would get back what had been taken from him by our masters, 
especially the barley — so were my shipmates; one of whom wished he 
had a loaded musket — saying, "I would soon stop him if I had one, 
and thus save the barley. Our masters made their signs for this man 
to go back, but he continued to advance, while our Arab masters, find- 
ing he would come up, kept their guns cocked in their hands, and 
ready to fire on him, though he had no other arms than a scimitar; 
and drawing near they halted ; upon which the stranger, making an 
appeal to God, and bowing himself down and worshipping, declared 
that he had lost a part of his property, and that he knew they must 
have taken it ; that he was their brother, and would rather die than 
commit a bad action, or suffer others to do it with impunity: "you 
have fire-arms" (Celibeatalis) said he, "and believe you can kill me in 
an instant; but the God of justice is my shield, and will protect the 
innocent ; 1 do not fear you." Sidi Hamet then told him to leave his 
scimitar where he was, and approach without fear, and then making 
our camels kneel down, we all dismounted. The stranger upon this 
came forward and asked — "Is it peace ?" "It is," was the reply of 
Sidi Hamet : they then saluted each other with — " Peace be witn you 
— peace be to your house — to all your friends," &c. &c. and shaking 
one another- in a most cordial manner by the hand, seated themselves 
in a circle on the ground. After a long debate, in which our masters 

{'ustified themselves for having taken the provisions without leave, 
>ecause we, their slaves, were in a state of starvation, which was very 
true, they added — " you would not have refused them a morsel, if 
you had been awake !" and it was thereupon finally agreed, to restore 
all that they had taken : so they made us clear a place on the ground 
that was hard, and pour out the barley from our bag. They also gave 
him up his bag of meal, which had been much lightened, and a very 
small bag, which I supposed to contain opium ; this they said was 
all they had taken ; then after they had prayed together, we all 
mounted our camels and proceeded on our journey. Religion and 
honour even among thieves, thought I ! 



82 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Continuation of the Journey on the Desart — Several singular occur- 
rences — They come within sight of the Ocean. 

This had detained us about an hour : Mr. Savage was put on the 
old camel, which still continued very lame, and Horace on the smallest. 
These camels could not keep pace with the others, and both Mr. 
Savage and Horace were severely flogged for what our masters called 
bad management : though the true reason I suspected was the loss of 
the stolen barley, wh.icnh.ad put them in a bad humour. We kept on 
to the east as fast as the camels could go, until late in the evening ; 
when hearing the voices of men hallooing to each other at a short dis- 
tance on our left, our masters seemed much frightened ; kept all still ; 
and finding a deep hollow, we silently descended its steep bank, leav- 
ing our little camel with his legs tied on the level above, as he was 
so far worn down by fatigue that he could scarcely walk. When we 
got to the bottom of it, we found a considerable number of small 
bushes, and having taken the saddles from off the camels and fettered 
their fore legs together, as usual, we let them go to feed. I calcu 
lated we travelled seven hours this day, at two miles an hour, among 
the sand hills ; then two hours on camels, until we came to the strange 
ones, at the rate of six miles an hour including two stops, say two 
hours ; then from four until about ten P. M. six hours, at five miles 
an hour — total this day, fifty-six miles. 

As soon as the camels were fettered, our masters examined their 
guns, and having ascertained that they were well primed, ascended 
the sand hills in this valley, (for there was much drifted sand about it 
in scattering heaps, and it appeared to have once been a river, whose 
bed was now dry.) They bade us all follow them, and went first to 
the lowest part of the valley ; then ascending the steep sides of the 
sand drifts, made us crawl after them on our hands and knees. After 
they had gained the top, and waiting for us to climb up, they set up 
the most tremendous howling 1 had ever before heard — one counter- 
feiting the tone of a tiger, the other the roar of a lion, and the third 
the sharp frightful yell of a famished wolf. Having kept up this con- 
cert for some time, they again proceeded, mounting and descending, 
and searching for tracks, &c. 

1 was much terrified, I confess, and expected they were hunting for 
the people we had heard halloo when we entered the valley, to rob and 
murder them, and that we were to share their danger and carry their 
spoil. But after they had kept us mounting and "descending about 
two hours, they found a snng retreat surrounded on all sides by high 
sand drifts, where however a few small bushes were growing : they 
made us lie down in the deep sand, and after continuing their howl- 
ings for about half an hour, bade us go to sleep, which we much 
needed, as our fatigues were excessive; they had not suffered us to 
make the least noise since we reached the valley, nor did they them- 
selves make any, except in imitation of wild fexocious beasts. 1 was 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 83 

*now fully persuaded that they were actuated by feelings of fear and 
not views of plunder in these manoeuvres ; and taking a station with 
tneir guns in their hands around us, as h afraid they should lose their 
slaves, we soon forgot our troubles in the arms of sleep, and did not 
awake until the morning of the 7th, when we repaired to our camels 
and found every thing safe. There were more camels, which we saw 
in the open vailey, browsing upon the bushes, which grew higher 
here than any we had hitherto seen ; the y were of a different species, 
and not clothed with long thorns. 

Just as we were ready to set off on our journey, an old woman and 
a boy came where we were ; the woman appeared very friendly, made 
inquiries respecting our situation, and if our masters as well as our- 
selves were not hungry ; and finding that we were indeed in want of 
f ood, she sent off her boy, who soon returned with the boiled remains 
of what I conceived to have been a sheep or goat, consisting of the 
entrails and a few bones ; of these our masters ate the greatest part, 
but gave us the remainder — that is to spy, the bones, which we were 
very glad to get, bare as they were, for our hunger was extreme. 

Having gnawed and swallowed this herd food, and drank about half 
a pint of water each, coloured with sour milk, which the old woman 
kindly gave us, we proceeded on our journey, mounting this dry 
river's bed or gully, which had been acted upon by water at no very 
remote period. We here saw the first bushes that deserved that name, 
since we had been on this continent. They appeared to be of the 
willow kind, some of them as large as a man's leg, and about fifteen 
feet in height. It was with much diffic llty the camels could ascend 
this bank, but when we did reach its summit we found ourselves on 
the same level desart as we had before travelled on : our view on every 
side was bounded only by the distant horizon, except on our left, 
where a long string of sand drifts of great height intercepted it. Near 
these sand hills we discovered a man mounted on a camel ; he rode 
swiftly towards us, which our masters observing, while he was yet a 

freat way off, dismounted from their camels to wait his approach, 
lyself and Mr. Savage were on foot, making the best* of our way 
along. We saw our masters dig holed in the sand, and bury two 
small bags which they had stolen from the stranger the day before, 
at the time they helped themselves to the barley. The man on his 
camel soon came up, and we recognized him as the same our mas- 
ters had plundered ; he had followed us on, and now told them they 
had stolen his goods and deceived him Lesides. 

Our masters denied the charge, and after showing him that they 
had nothing about them of the kind he described, told him to satisfy 
himself fully, and to go and search the'r stuff on the camels ; pro- 
testing, at the same time, that he accused them wrongfully, and call- 
ing God to witness that they had nothii.g of his in their possession. 
The man seemed satisfied with their protestations, and rode off with- 
out further examination. We were going on during this time, and 
they remained on the spot to dig up the treasure after its owner had 
left them. When they came up with us, Sidi Hamet said to me, 
" That fellow wanted his bags and things, but he has not got them 
yet:" he then showed me the bags and their contents. There was a 
small box in one of the bags, containing opium and several hoiiow 



84 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

sticks of the thickness of a man's finger, and six or eight inches long 5 
these were filled with what I supposed to be gold dust. The other 
bag contained tobacco stalks, and the roots of ^n herb, which I after- 
wards understood to be a specific remedy for evil eyes, or witchcraft; 
this they esteemed as of great value, even more than the gold dust 
and opium : the natives smoke this root through the leg or thigh bone 
of a sheep or goat, they having no other pipes, and then conceit 
themselves invulnerable. I confess I was not pleased at the discovery 
of our masters' propensity to thieving, and could not help being ap- 
prehensive of the consequences that might result from such licen- 
tiousness, affecting our safety and prospects of release. We travelled 
fast most of this day, and must have made thirty-five miles on about 
an E. N. E. course. It was late when we stopped for the night: we 
were on a hard surface, and had neither shrub, nor indeed any other 
thing to fend off the cold night wind, which blew extremely fierce 
from the N. N. E. 

October the 8th, we started very early and rode on rapidly until 
the afternoon, when some camels' tracks were discovered, at which 
our masters seemed very much rejoiced, for they were extremely 
hungry and thirsty. We followed these tracks until about four P. M. 
(they being nearly on our course,) when we came in sight of a large 
drove of camels feeding on the scattered shrubbery in a small shallow 
valley, with a few sheep and goats, which were nibbling a short brown 
moss, not more than an inch in height, that grew round about in spots. 
After due salutations, which were very long and tedious, the owners 
of the flocks and herds invited our masters to remain with them for 
the night, which may well be supposed was readily accepted; we 
having travelled this day about forty-five miles. They showed our 
masters the way to their tents, who, after bidding us to follow, set off 
for them on a full trot. We reached them in about half an hour: 
there were about twenty in number — pitched in a little valley, near a 
small thicket of thorn trees. I call them trees, because they were 
much larger than any vegetable productions we had yet seen in this 
country — a few of them might be eight inches in diameter. Our 
masters had already killed a kid they had bought, and were employed 
in dressing it; which being prepared and boiled soon after dark, our 
masters gave us the entrails, which we immediately devoured, though 
not cleaned, and nearly raw, as we had not patience to wait till they 
were roasted sufficiently : they then offered some of the meat to the 
Arabs, who were sitting around them on the ground ; but as they 
only came to gratify their curiosity in viewing us, they did not accept 
of any. This was the first time I had known any of them refuse so 
tempting an offer ; and I could not but consider it as a favourable 
omen, and that the land was becoming more fertile and productive as 
we advanced on our journey, and that we must shortly escape from 
this horrible desart. 

After we had swallowed our morsel, these people gave each of us 
a good drink of water, and at midnight (the hour set apart by the 
Arabs for taking their refreshment) they awaked me and gave me a 
bowl, containing probably four or five pounds of a kind of stirabout, 
or hasty pudding, in the centre of which, in a hole made for the pur 
pose, there was poured a pint or more of good sweet milk : we quickly 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 85 

gealed ourselves in a circle around the bowl, and though it was quite 
hot, we swallowed it in a moment. This was the most" delicious food 
I ever tasted; the effect it produced on my palate has never since 
been effaced from my memory, and my companions agreed with me 
that nothing half so "sweet had ever before entered their mouths; anu 
as we all took it up with our hands, each one accused the other ot 
eating like a hog, and of devouring more than his equal share. I 
endeavoured to convince them that it could not be more equally 
divided, as each put his hand to his mouth as fast as he could. 
Notwithstanding every one, by the irresistible impatience of hunger, 
burnt his mouth and throat, yet this dish was unspeakably grateful , 
for hunger, sufferings, and fatigue had absolutely reduced us to skele- 
tons : it warmed our stomachs, and checked the dysentery, which 
had been extremely distressing for several days past. This was the 
first kind of bread we had tasted since we left the wreck. 

Our masters had been very much out of humour (probably owing 
to hunger) for several days, and beat my shipmates oftentimes most 
unmercifully, who, in their turn, smarting under the lash, and suffer- 
ing incredibly from their sores, fatigues, and privations, became as 
cross as wild bears, notwithstanding I did all in my power to lighten 
their burdens, relieve their fatigues, and intercede for and beg them 
off when our masters were about to beat them, and frequently walking 
that they might ride; yet one of them would often curse me to my 
face, and load me with the most opprobrious epithets. My kindness 
seemed but to inflame his petulance, and to excite in him a strange 
animosity, so that in the ravings of his distempered imagination, he 
declared that he hated the sight of me, and that my very smiles were 
more cutting to him than daggers presented to his naked breast ; he 
seemed indeed to be transformed into a perfect savage in disposition, 
nor did this rankling humour forsake him until I shewed him in Suze 
the letter I there received from Mr. Willshire, assuring me he would 
shortly redeem us from slavery. 

Early on the morning of the 9th, we set forward in a northeasterly 
direction, and having travelled about ten hours on the camels, at the 
rate of four miles an hour, we came to a deep well, situated in the 
midst of a cluster of high bushes ; here was a large company of men 
watering many droves of camels that were round about. Tnese peo- 
ple saluted our masters in a friendly manner, when they came up. 1 
was preparing to assist in drawing water for our camels, but Sidi 
Hamet would not permit me or my companions to work ; indeed we 
were so extremely reduced and weak, that we couW not without dif- 
ficulty stand steady on our feet, though (fnm what cause I know not) 
our sores were fast healing, and our skins uniting in all parts over 
our bodies. 

While Seid and Abdallah were busied in drawing water for our 
camels, an Arab came up with one, and led him to our masters' 
watering tub or bowl, which Seid observing, bade him desist ; but 
the strange Arab swore his camel should drink .here, and he (Seid) 
should draw water for him. This kindled the resentment of Seid; 
he left his bucket, ran up to the Arab, and gave him a heavy blow on 
his face with his fist, which staggered him near to falling; but reco- 
vering himself, he drew his scimitar, and made a powerful thrust at 



86 CAPTAIN RILEY S NARRATIVE. 

Seid, who saved his life by springing suddenly from him, and rhe 
scimitar out slightly pricked his breast. Sidi Hamet had by this 
time seized and unsheathed his gun, and presented it to the Arab's 
breast within a yard's distance, ready to blow him through. When 
he was about to fire, his hand was seized by one of the bystanders, 
and others of them rushing between the combatants to prevent blood- 
shed, laid hold of Seid and his antagonist, and having separated them 
by main force, they removed the Arab to the other side of the well, 
where some of the company drew water for his camel, which having 
drank its fill, they sent the fellow off, muttering curses as he went 
away. Our masters, during all this time, were so exasperated at the 
conduct of this man, that nothing less than the strength of superior 
numbers would have prevented them from putting him to death ; and 
all the company aervp^ ithat they h#d been grossly insulted, especially 
as they were strangers. 

When our camels had finished drinking at this well, the water of 
which was very brackish, we were mounted, and proceeded further 
east for about one hour's ride, where we found two more wells, which 
appeared to have been lately dug, and the water they contained was 
very salt. Here was a large drove of camels (probably one hundred) 
to be watered, and they obliged me to assist in drawing water until 
they had all finished ; my master encouraging me, by saying, " their 
owner was a very good man, and would give us food." It was about 
sunset when we had finished drawing water, and we followed the val- 
ley in which we were for about three miles east, when we came to the 
tent we had been in quest of: here was no lee to keep off the cold 
wind, nor did we get any thing to eat, notwithstanding our masters 
had praised the liberality of our host, and tried by every means to 
obtain some provisions from him. I soon found his goodness was 
like that of many others ; (i. e.) he was no longer liberal than while 
there was a prospect of profit. I presume we travelled forty-five 
miles this day. 

As soon as daylight appeared on the morning of the 10th. we set 
forward, all mounted on the camels, and kept on steadily unul night 
over this most dreary desart, and came to a halt long after dark, 
without any thing to keep off the wind, which was blowing a strong 
gale. We travelled this day about thirteen hours, at four miles an 
hour; as the camels went all day on a quick walk, we must have made 
at least fifty-two miles E. N. E. 

October 11th, we set off very early on a full trot, and went on until 
about noon, seven hours, at six miles an hour, when the land before us 
appeared broken, and wo descended gradually into a deep valley, 
whose bottom was covered with sand ; and on both sides of us, at a 
great distance, we saw very high and steep banks like those of a river, 
and followed the tongue of land that separated them. Our course 
was nearly east. At about two P. M. our masters said they saw 
camels ahead, but we could not perceive them for a long time after, 
when keeping on a great trot, we came up with a drove about six P. 
M. We could however find no owners, nor in fact any human being ; 
for all had fled and hid themselves, probably from fear of being robbed, 
>Y that contributions might be levied on their charity for some pro- 
7isions. We searched some time for the owners of these camels, but 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 87 

not finding them, we continued on, and having come to the abrupt 

end of the tongue of land on which we hid been travelling, we de- 
scended into the river's bed, which was dry and soft. Pushing for- 
ward, we reached a large cluster of bushes, which appeared like an 
island in a lake when seen at a distance, and 1 suppose it was ten 
o'clock at night before we arrived at the spot, though we saw it in the 
distant horizon long before dark. As we entered among the bushes, 
our masters preserved a profound silence ; and having found a ckar 
spot of about twenty yards in diameter, encircled by high bushes, 
which kept off the wind, we stopped there for the night ; having tra- 
velled that day for the space of about fourieen hours, at the rate of five 
miles an hour, making a distance of seventy miles. We had nothing 
this night wherewith to allay our hunger: our fatigues and sufferings 
may be more easily conceived than expressed ; yet as we were shel- 
tered from the night winds, we slept very soundly until we were 
roused up to continue our journey. 

On the 12th of October, as soon as daylight appeared, we watered 
the camels at a well of brackish water n«?ar the bushes before men- 
tioned. Our masters had been careful not to make the least noise 
during the night, nor to kindle a fire, fe&ring they should be disco- 
vered and surprised by some more powerful party ; but neither foe nor 
friend appeared ; and having filled a skin with some of this brackish 
water, we descended a second steep bank to the bottom or lowest 
part of this river's bed, which was then dry, sandy, and incrusted with 
salt ; it appeared very white, and crumbled under the feet of our ca- 
mels, making a loud crackling noise. The reasons of this bed being 
then without water, appeared to be the recess of the tide : its left 
bank rose very high in perpendicular cliffs, while its right was sloping 
and covered with sand, evidently blown by the winds from the sea 
beach, and which lay in drifts up to its very summit. This bay (for 
it can be nothing else) ran into the land from near a S. W. to a W. 
direction, and was not more than eight or ten miles wide here, which 
1 afterwards fourtd was near its mouth, but was very broad within, and 
extended a great distance into the country ; for since we entered 
its former bed we had travelled twelve hours, at the rate of five miles 
an hour, making sixty miles, and it then extended farther than the 
eye could reach to the S. W. 

The steep banks on both sides, which were four or five hundred 
feet high, showed most evident signs of their having been washed by 
sea water from their base to near their summits, (but at a very remote 
period,) and that the sea had gradually retired from them. Our mas- 
ters being in a state of starvation, their ill humour increased exceed- 
ingly ; when about nine o'clock in the forenoon we saw two men, 
driving two camels, come down the sand hills on our right. Our mas- 
ters rode off to meet them, and having made the necessary inquiries, 
returned to us, who had continued going forward, accompanied by 
Abdallah. Sidi Hamet informed us that there were goats in an E. S. 
E. direction not far distant, and that we should soon have some meat; 
so we commenced climbing over the high hills of sand, in order that 
*e might fall in with them. Jn ascending these lulls, which were ex- 
tremely difficult and long, our old lame camel gave out, having fallen 
down several times, wiich caused much delay; so finding him nearly 



88 CAPTAIN RILEY S NARRATIVE 

expiring, we abandoned him and proceeded on ; though this circun 
stance of losing the camel, also helped to increase the rage of o* 
masters, who now behaved like madmen. As we were climbing u\ 
we perceived a hole dug in the sand, and we were told that the en 
trails of a camel had been roasted there, which Seid discovered byap 
plying his nose to the surrounding earth. Sidi Harriet having gone 
on before us with his gun, we had already ascended several miles of 
this steep and sandy bank ; and on arriving near the level of the sur- 
rounding country, we heard the report of a musket fired, at no great 
distance from where we were, and soon perceived Sidi Hamet, accom- 
panied by another Arab, driving a flock of goats before them. This 
Arub was much intimidated at the sight and report of a gun, for my 
master had fired off one of the barrels to frighten him. When the 
goats came near us, our masters, who considered possession as a very 
important preliminary, ran in among the flock, and seized four of 
them, which they gave into our charge, until they should settle about 
the price with their owner, who was alone and unarmed, but at this mo- 
ment he was joined by his wife : — she had not been at all frightened, 
and commenced scolding at our masters most immoderately and loud- 
ly : — she said, she would not consent to part with the goats, even if 
her husband did, and insisted on knowing Sidi Hamet's name : this 
he told her, and she then began to abuse him for being so cowardly 
as to rob an unarmed man ; said the whole country should ring with 
his name and actions, and she did not doubt but she could find some 
man who would revenge this injury. Her husband all this time strove 
to stop her tongue, but to no purpose ; nor did she cease scolding un- 
til Seid presented his gun to her breast, and threatened her if she 
spoke another word, to blow her to pieces. This compelled her to 
pause a moment, while our master (taking advantage ol her silence) 
informed them that he had left a good camel a little distance behind, 
which being only tired, could not proceed with them, and that he 
would give them this camel in exchange for these four goats [ could 
plainly discover, however, that these people did not believe him. Sidi 
Hamet nevertheless spoke the truth in part ; a camel was indeed left 
behind, but not a good one ; yet as there was no alternative, they were 
necessitated to submit : the woman however insisted on exchanging 
one goat we had for another, which our masters assented to, merely 
to gratify her caprice. 

This business being thus settled, which had taken up nearly an hour's 
time, our goats were tied fast to each other by their necks, and given 
into my charge ; leaving Mr. Savage and Horace to assist in driving 
them. Clark and Burns were ordered to drive the camels, whilst our 
masters, a little less fretful than before, went forward to pick out a 
practicable passage for them and the goats, while my party brought up 
the rear. The goats were difficult to manage, but we continued to 
drive them along, and generally within sight of the camels, though 
with great fatigue and exertion. Our hunger and thirst were exces- 
sive : the direct heat of the sun, as well as that reflected from the deep 
and yielding sands, was intense. Mr. Savage found here a very sh^rt 
green weed, which he pulled and ate, telling me it was most delicious 
and as sweet as honey; but 1 begged him not to swallow any of it until 
1 should ask our masters what was the nature of it, for it might be poi 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 89 

son . nnd 1 refused to touch it myself, though it looked tempting. In 
our distressed condition, however, he thought a green thing that Tasted 
so well could do him no harm, and continued to eat whatever he could 
find of it, which (happily for him) was not much : but in a short time 
ne was convinced of the contrary, for he soon began to vomit violent- 
ly: — this alarmed me for his safety, and I examined the weed he had 
been so delighted with, and after a close investigation, 1 was convin- 
ced it was no other than what is called in America the Indian tobacco, 
(Nicotiana.) Its effects were also similar; but how these plants came 
to grow on those sands 1 cannot conceive. 

Mr. Savage continued to vomit by spells for two hours or more, 
which, as he had very little in his stomach, strained it so excessively as 
to bring forth blood. 1 could not wait for him, because both our mas- 
ters, their camels, and our shipmates, were already out of sight. When 
he could proceed no further, he would stop and vomit, and then by run- 
ning (though in great distress) as fast as he was able, come up with 
us again. I encouraged him all I could — told him what the herb was, 
and that its effects need not be dreaded. 

Ever since we had been coming near the summit of the land, we 
had discerned the sea, though at a great distance ahead and on our 
left ; but as it appeared dark and smooth in the distant horizon, I sup- 
posed it to be an extensive ridge of high woodland, and hoped we 
should soon reach it, as our course bent that way, and that this would 
prove to be the termination of the desart. Horace, however, thought 
it appeared too dark and smooth for land, and regarding it attentively, 
I discovered it was in fact the ocean, and i could plainly distinguish 
its mountainous waves as they rolled along, for it was greatly agitated 
by fierce winds. This was the first view we had of the sea since we 
were made slaves : it was a highly gratifying sight to us all, and par- 
ticularly so, as it was quite unexpected ; and it very much revived the 
spirits of myself and desponding companions. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

They travel along the sea-coast under high banks— fall in with and join 

a company of Arabs — travel in the night for fear of robbers — Mr. Sa- 
vage faints — is near being massacred, and rescued by the author. 

Dis( <:rning the tracks of our camels, which we had lost sight of 
for a ti ie, as they had crossed over rocks, where they had descended 
througn a rent or chasm, partly covered with high drifts of loose sand, 
towards the sea shore, we followed them down immensely steep sand 
hills, to a tolerably inclined plane, between the first and second banks of 
the sea ; which, from appearances, had once washed the upper bank, 
but had long since retired : — the inclined plane had also been a beach 
forages, where the stones, that now covered its surface, had been tos- 
*ed, and rounde 1 by striking against one another. 

From this beach the ocean had also retired, and now washed other 
perpendicular cliffs of one hundred feet or more in height, at a distance 
of six or eight miles to the northward of the former ones, which ap 

E 



90 CAPTAIN RILEY^S NARRATIVE. 

pearedto rise in abrupt, and in many places overhanging cliffs of rocks 
to the height of three hundred feet. We had made our way through 
these cliffs, by means of a hollow, seemingly formed on purpose for a 
passage, as it was the only one in view ; and as I did not know which 
way our masters went, I had stopped to view the surrounding prospect, 
and now give what was then my impression. I was at a loss which 
way to steer my course, but our masters, who were concealed behind 
a small hillock on our left, discovering my embarrassment, now called 
to me, where 1 soon joined them. It was then nearly dark, and there 
were three or four families of Arabs near, sitting under a shelter made 
of skins extended by poles; here our camels were turned up to browse, 
and we were ordered to collect brush, which grew on the steep side ot 
the banks, to make a fire, and to keep off the wind during the night. 
Mr. Savage was entirely exhausted, and I requested him to lie down 
on the ground, whilst the rest of us gathered the bushes required ; but 
when I came in with my handful, Seid was beating him with a stick to 
make him assist. I begged he would permit Mr. Savage to remain 
where he was ; told him he was sick, and that 1 would perform his 
share of the labour. Sidi Harnet now returned and killed one of the 
goats, of which they gave us the entrails — a seasonable relief indeed, 
and we were allowed to drink a little of the soup they were boiled in, 
and a small piece of meat was divided between us; and each received 
a drink of water : I had before stolen a drink for Mr. Savage, whose 
bloody vomit continued. In the course of the night, they gave us a 
small quantity of the same kind of pudding we had before tasted, but 
as Mr. Savage was sick, they refused to give him any, saying, " he 
has already eaten too much of something, but they did not know what/' 
Sidi Hamet, however, saved a little of the pudding in a bowl for him, 
and as he seemed unwilling to die with hunger, I gave him part of the 
pudding I had, and saved my share of meat for him until the morning. 
Our hunger and thirst being somewhat appeased, we slept this night 
pretty soundly. We had travelled this day about thirty miles. 

October the 14th, early in the morning, we took leave of these 
Arabs ; but while we were busied in getting off, Abdallah seized on 
Mr. Savage's pudding in the bowl as a good prize, and swallowed it in 
an instant ; so that nothing but my care for Mr. Savage saved him 
from fainting and consequent death on this day. Our masters had 
purchased two more goats from those Arabs, which increased our num- 
ber to five ; these we were forced to drive, and we kept along the sea- 
shore the whole of this day. On our right the original seashore (or 
bank) rose nearly three hundred feet perpendicularly, and in many 

f)laces in overhanging cliffs. The inclined plane on which we travel- 
ed was from three to six or eight miles wide, and very regular ; covered 
with pebbles and many round stones ; among which grew here and 
there a few dwarf bushes of different kinds from what 1 had seen before 
in various parts of the world. A little to our left the plane broke oil 
abruptly, and the ocean appeared. The bank was from one hundred 
and fifty to two hundred feet high above the level of the sea, and 
mostly perpendicular, against which the heavy surges dashed with 
great fury, sounding like loud peals of distant thunder. Our course 
and that of the shore was about east, and near dark we fell in with four 
fomilies of Arabs who were about pitching their tents near the sei 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 91 

shore. Our masters went and introduced themselves to the one who 
appeared to be their chief, or the principal character among them, and 
whose name was Hassar. They soon became acquainted, and it was 
ascertained that Hassar and his wife, together with four men that were 
with him, and their families were going the same route that we were; 
upon which our masters agreed to join company. 

Hassar's wife, whose name was Tamar, and who appeared to be an 
uncommonly intelligent woman, addressed me in broken Spanish and 
Arabic mixed : — she said she had saved the lives of some Spaniards 
who had been wrecked on that coast a great many years ago ; that a 
vessel came for them, and that she went to Lanzarote (one of the Ca- 
nary islands) to get some goods which the Spanish captain promised 
to deliver to her father, who retained three of the men until the Spa- 
niard should have fulfilled his contract, and brought her back. She 
represented to me the manner in which the- houses in Lanzarote were 
built, and described the forts and batteries with their cannon, &c. so 
very clearly and accurately, that I had no doubt she must have seen 
them, and I gave her to understand 1 had been there also. She said 
Lanzarote was a bad country, and assured us, we should not die with 
hunger while we remained in her company. 

We travelled on the 14th about twenty miles. In the night our 
masters killed a goat, and gave us a part of the meat, as well as of the 
entrails : Hassar's wife also gave us a small quantity of the pudding 
before mentioned, which the Arabs call Lhcsh ; and here we had a 
.good night's sleep. October the 15th, early in the morning, Hassar 
and his company struck their tents, and all these families proceeded 
on with us until near night; when we came to a very deep gully, which 
we could not pass in any other way than by going down the bank on 
to the sea beach, and at low tide ; there was a kind of pathway where 
camels had gone down before us. We descended, and there found a 
tent with an Arab family in it, just below the high bank ; so sending 
on the camels, Sidi Hamet made us stop here a few moments. The 
owner of the tent pretended to speak Spanish, but in fact knew only a 
few detached words of that language : he mentioned to me that he 
knew 1 had promised Sidi Hamet that my friend in Swearah would 
pay him the amount I had bargained for, stating the sum : now, said 
this Arab, " Have you a friend in Swearah '.'" 1 answered 1 had. 
" Do not lie, (said he,) for if you do you will have your throat cut ; but 
if you have told him so merely that you might get off of the desart, so as 
to procure something to eat, he will pardon that pretext and deception 
so far as only to sell you and your comrades to the highest bidder, the 
first opportunity, provided, however, that you confess the deceit now. 
In a few days (added he) you will find houses and a river of running 
water, and should you persist in deceiving him, you will certainly lose 
your life.'' 1 made him understand that I was incapable of lying to 
Sidi Hamet; that all 1 told him was true; that he was the man who 
had saved my life, and he should be well rewarded for his goodness by 
my friend, and by our Almighty Father. This seemed to satisfy Sidi 
Hamet, who was present and understood me better than the other did, 
and he told me I should see Swearah in a (ew days. We now went 
forward, accompanied by the Arab, who piloted us across a small arm 
of the sea that entered the before mentioned gully. We here found a 



92 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

pair of kerseymere pantaloons that had belonged to Mr. Savag \ in the 
possession of one of this man's little sons:— 1 pointed them o. t to my 
masters, and begged them to buy them, which after a long ba ter with 
the boy, Seid effected, by giving him in exchange a piece of blu^ cotton 
cloth which he had worn as a kind of shirt : they wished m» to give 
the pantaloons to Clark or Horace, but ] gave them to Mr. Savage, 
although they insisted he was fontt, or a bad fellow. 

Having got up the steep bank again, after wading through the salt 
water, which was nearly up to our hips, and one hundred yards broad, 
we encamped forthe night on high dry land; and at dark our masters, 
taking Horace and myself with them, went near a few tents lose by 
the sea, where we were presented with a quantity of dried muscles, 
which, though very salt, we found excellent ; these we divided among 
our shipmates. I conjecture we had made twenty-five miles 'his day. 
Here our masters killed their remaining goats, boiled and ite their 
entrails and most of their meat, as all present were hungry, ar 1 would 
have some in spite of every opposition ; so that our share w; s seized 
and swallowed by others. 

October the 16th, we made ready and started very early, ' ut went 
on slowly, keeping near the seashore, and mostly in the broken 
grounds, caused by its former washings. Our masters seer ed very 
fearful all this day, and told me there were many robbers and ' ad men 
hereabouts, who would endeavour to seize and carry us off, ind that 
they could throw large stones with great force and precision. We had 
not travelled more than fifteen miles before sunset, and nigh coming 
on, our masters, who had mounted Mr. Savage, Clark, and 3 urns on 
the camels, drove them on at a great rate, while myself am Horace 
were obliged to keep up with them by running on foot. All this time 
they had their guns in their hands unsheathed, and when Horace and 
myself were obliged occasionally to stop, one of them rlway stayed 
with us, and then hurried us on as fast as possible. In this m nnervve 
proceeded until about midnight, when coming to a deep g' lly, Mr. 
Savage and Clark were dismounted, and Horace and myself \ aced on 
the camels. Descending the valley, we found it full of high sa d drifts, 
and proceeded without. making the least noise : the valley v is wide, 
and the sand lying in it had, no doubt, been driven from the g j a beach 
by the wind. All the women and children at this time were running 
on foot. After reaching, with much labour, the other side oftl 3 valley, 
and the summit beyond it, we found the whole surface of th.- ground 
making an even inclined plane, covered with deep drifts of lo< se sand. 
I had been riding, I think, about two hours, when Clark, wno was a 
considerable distance behind, called to me, and said, " Mi Savage 
has fainted away, and they are flogging him with sticks." I nstantly 
slipped off my camel, and ran to relieve him as fast as my h <s could 
carry me. Seid was striking his apparent lifeless body, v hich lay 
stretched on the ground, with a heavy stick : Hassar had si zed him 
by the beard with one hand, and with the other held a sharp fcimitar, 
with which he was in the act of cutting his throat. I lai < hold of 
Hassar, jerked him away, and clasping the body of Mr. Savj re in my 
arms, raised him up, and called for water. Hassar would ha^ ■*, run me 
through with his scimitar, but Sidi Hamet arrested and preve ted him 
1 expected *o los* 1 my life, but had determined t® save Mr. Savage'? 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 93 

at all hazards. Our masters and the whole company of men, women, 
and children, were around me : they were possessed with the belief 
that he was perverse and obstinate, and that he would not exert himsell 
to proceed at a time when they were in haste to go on, lest they should 
fall into the hands of robbers ; for which reason they had determined 
to kill him. 1 made Sidi Hamet, however, and the others understand, 
that he had fainted through hunger and excessive fatigue, and that he 
was not perverse in this instance. This surprised them exceedingly : 
they had never before heard of such a thing as fainting. Sidi Hamet 
ordered a camel to be brought, and a drink of water to be given him, 
and when he revived, this Arab shed tears ; then putting him and Clark 
on a camel, one to steady the other, they proceeded. Sidi Hamet 
desired me to get on with Horace and ride, saying, with a sneer — " the 
English are good for nothing — you see even our women and children 
can walk and run." I told him I could walk, that I was not a bad 
fellow; and began to run about and drive up the camels: this pleased 
him excessively, and he bade me come and walk with him, leaving the 
camels to the care of others, calling me " good Riley — you shall again 
see your children, if God please." 

We continued our journey eastward along the south side of a high 
string of sand hills, when hearing a dog bark before us, we turned the 
camels suddenly off to the north, setting them off on a full trot, but 
passing over the sand hills without noise : we kept this course for 
about an hour, until having got near the sea bank, and north of the 
sand hills, we resumed our former course. Near daylight we lost our 
way, and fearing to go amiss, as it was very dark, they made the camels 
lie down in a circle, placing us within it — when they kept guard over 
us with their muskets in their hands, while we took a nap. 1 should 
guess we travelled fifty miles this last day and night. 

October the 17th, early in the morning, we set forward again, still on 
the same inclined plane, between the first and second banks of the sea. 
The high banks on our right, whose pointed rocks, where they had 
been washed by the ocean, were still visible all the way, began to be 
overtopped with high hills rising far into the country, and presenting 
to our view a new aspect ; so that I was convinced we had left the le- 
vel desart. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Black mountains avpear in the east — They come to a river of salt water, 
and to wells of fresh water, where they find many horses— Description 
of a singular plant — Come to cultivated land; to afresh water river, 
and a few stone huts. 

The black tops of high mountains appeared in the distant horizon 
to the eastward about n^on, and the camel paths were very much trod- 
den. We kept on until near night, when meeting with a deep 
valley, we wound our course through it to the southward, and then went 
down south-eastwardly through another deep valley, where there was a 
good path. The black bare mountains on both sides of us gave us great 
hopes that we should soon come to running water and cultivated lands; 



94 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

and in reality near night we came to a stream of water, with high grass 
and bushes growing on its margin. The water, however, was very 
brackish, and could not be drank : but on its opposite bank we saw a 
company of men at some wells, watering about forty fine looking horses 
and some camels. Our masters saluted those men, and crossing the 
stream, which in this part was about two feet deep and thirty feet 
wide, we watered our camels also at the same place. This river, whose 
water was as clear as crystal, was literally filled with beautitul large fish, 
which were jumping above the surface every moment; but the Arabs 
did not seem to want them, for they could have been caught very ea- 
sily. The company with horses and camels left the wells, and went 
on to the south, riding at a full trot along the river's side : they were 
armed only with scimitars. Our company then went towards the sea, 
and Hassar's women pitched their tents for the night; here they cook- 
ed a goat, which they divided among all the party, and what fell to 
our share cannot be supposed to have been much. I believe we made 
thirty-six miles this day, as we rode nearly all the time. 

October the 1 8th, we ascended the hill, climbing up in a zigzag path 
on the steep side of the east bank of this river ; and having gained the 
surface, we found it to be a continuation of the same inclined plane 
on which we had before been travelling. The bank on our right, to 
the south, still continued to give indubitable proofs of its having been 
washed by the ocean ; whose surges had worn in under the shelving 
rocks, which hung in immense masses of from two to three hundred 
feet high over the surface of the inclined plane below, while the plane 
itself adjoining the cliffs was covered with fragments that had fallen 
from above, and with other stones that had been washed and worn 
round by the ocean's waves, leaving the most positive marks of its 
having retired to its present bed. These observations, with those 1 
had made before, and was enabled to make afterwards, fully satisfied 
my mind, that the sea had gradually retired from this continent; — 1 
must leave it to philosophers to account for the cause. The only 
green thing we had seen for several days past, except what grew 
immediately on the bank of the river, (which were some bushes 
resembling dwarf alders and bulrushes,) was a shrub that rose in a 
small bunch at the bottom, having frequently but one stock, from three 
to twelve inches in thickness ; the limbs spreading out in every 
direction, like an umbrella, into innumerable branches, making a 
diameter of from fifteen to twenty feet, and not more than six feet in 
height ; its leaves very green, smooth, pointed, and about four inches 
long, by one and a half broad ; its bark resembled that of the hard or 
sugar maple tree ; its branches terminated abruptly, the point of each 
twig being nearly as thick as the end of a man's finger : this shrub, or 
weed, was very tender, and as we broke off the twigs, a great many 
drops of glutinous liquid, resembling milk, flowed from them, but its 
odour and taste were of the most disagreeable kind, and the camels 
would not feed on it. We saw a good deal that had grown up before, 
and had died and become dry : on breaking it off, I found it was 
hollow, and almost as light as a common dry weed. Neither our 
masters nor the other Arabs would light a fire with it, on account of 
its disagreeable smell when burning ; the taste of the milk issuing from 
this plant was the most nauseous and disgusting in nature, though 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 95 

very white and beautiful to behold. About noon we came to the foot 
of Jthe high mountains we had seen the day before, and turned in 
between two of them to the southeast, leaving the sea entirely. We 
went up through a chasm in the bank, over rocks and through a narrow 
footway, formed by the treading of camels and horses ; for we had 
seen many horse tracks, and also the tracks of one animal of the kind 
called neat cattle. 

As we proceeded on foot, winding upwards, we discovered on oui 
left a few stones piled up in the form of a wall, round a pit of ten 
or twelve feet across, and six feet deep, dug in the eatth by 
art. There were lying on the ground around the wall, several earthen 
pots that would contain from three to four gallons each, and which 
appeared to have been made for and used as boilers. One of our 
young men directly took up one of them, and was lashing it on his 
camel as a good prize, when Hassar and Sidi Hamet, observing the 
circumstance, made him untie and carry it back again to the spot 
where he had found it. As I already knew the propensity all had for 
plundering, 1 could not but imagine that they now restrained them- 
selves through fear. About sunset we came to a small spot of land 
that had been cultivated, and fell in with a heap of barley straw. Here 
was the first sign of cultivation we had seen on this continent, and we 
hailed it as the harbinger of happier days. We had travelled full 
thirty miles this day, and our masters now gave us the putrid remains 
of the goat which had hung on one of the camels for four days : this 
we roasted, and found it a delicious morsel ; it was tender, and need- 
ed no seasoning. Some of my comrades, as if their taste had become 
depraved by the rage of hunger, declared that putrid meat was far 
preferable to fresh ; that it wanted neither salt nor pepper to give it a 
relish, and that it ever they got home again, they should prefer such 
food to any other. Having finished our savoury supper, we lay down 
on the straw, and enjoyed a most charming, sound, and refreshing 
sleep. To us, who for so long a time had been obliged to repose our 
wearied limbs and wasted frames on the hard-baked bosom of the 
desart, or the dead sides of the barren sand drifts, this solitary heap 
of fresh straw seemed softer and sweeter than a bed of down strewn 
over with the most odoriferous flowers. 

October the 19th, we resumed our journey very early in the morn- 
ing, and travelled on foot, all except Burns, who was so far exhausted 
as to be unable to walk. Our course rounded from S. E. to E. N. 
E. keeping the bottom of the valleys, most of which had been culti- 
vated by the plough at no very remote period, but only in a narrow 
strip. The sides of the mountains were entirely barren and naked of 
foliage, and we kept on winding as the valleys permitted, until about 
two o'clock P. M. when, suddenly through a deep valley before us, a 
few rough stone huts broke upon our view, and a moment afterwards 
we beheld a stream of clear water purling over a pebbly bottom, and 
meandering through banks covered with green bushes and shrubs in 
full blossom. On the farther side, cows, asses, and sheep, were feed- 
ing on green grass, and a number of date trees adorning and shading 
the margin of the rivulet. This was a sight none of us expected to 
behold, and I ooured out my soul in rapturous effusions of thankful- 
ness to the Supreme Being. Excess of jo) had so far overpowered 



96 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE 

our faculties, that it was with difficulty we reached the warpr's edge^ 
but urging forward to the brink with headlong steps, and fearlessly 
plunging in our mouths, like thirsty camels, we swallowed down large 
draughts, until satiated nature bade us stop. The rivulet was fresh, 
and fortunately not so cold as to occasion any injurious effects : it was 
quite shallow, and not more than about five yards in width; it aoDe.3 r- 
ed, however, very evidently, that when the rain falls in the surroun j- 
ing country, it flows with a much deeper and broader current. It is 
called by the Arabs, el Wod noon, or the river Nun; comes from the 
southeast, and runs from this place to the sea in a northerly direction. 
We had arrived on its right bank, where some barren date trees grew, 
and which offered us nothing but their shade : hungry, however, as we 
were, our fatigue got the better of every other want, and as these 
were the first trees we had met with during our distressing pilgrimage, 
we embraced the kindly offer, and enjoyed about two hours of refresh- 
ing sleep : 1 was then awakened by Sidi Hamet, who directed me to 
come with my companions and follow him : this we instantly did, 
and going near one of the small houses, he divided amongst us, to 
our inexpressible joy, about four pounds of honey in-the comb. This 
was indeed a dainty treat; and with the hungriness of greedy bears, 
we devoured it, comb and all, together with a host of young bees just 
ready for hatching, that filled two-thirds of the cells ; our hearts at the 
same time swelling with gratitude to God, and tears of joy trickling 
down our fleshiest cheeks. 

Hassar's men pressed around, and endeavoured to snatch from us 
this delicious food, of which they had no share; but Sidi Hamet 
placing the bowl on his knees, passed the honey-comb to us piece by 
piece in one hand, while he held his gun in the other, ready to fire on 
any one who should attempt to deprive us of our meal. The eyes of 
these fellows seemed to flash fire at the preference we enjoyed, and 
we dreaded the effects of their malicious envy ; for the Arabs set no 
bounds to their anger and resentment, and regard no law but that of 
superior force. Having finished our luscious repast, we were told by 
our masters to go to rest, which we did, and soon fell asleep in the 
shade formed by a beautiful umbrella palm-tree. 

About dark we were called up and ordered to gather fuel, and 
were afterwards presented with some pudding of the same kind we 
had before eaten, though mixed with oil, that 1 afterwards ascertained 
was the argan oil, which, though fresh, had a very strong smell, and 
my stomach being cloyed with honey, ] declined Rating any. My 
companions, however, relished this oil very much, and preferred it 
afterwards to butter during our stay in Africa. We found a good 
shelter this night near a burying place with a small square stone build- 
ing in the centre, whitewashed and covered with a dome; and I after- 
wards learned that this was a sanctuary or saint house : it was fenced 
in with thorn bushes, and was the first burying place we had seen in 
this country. I computed we had travelled this day (Oct. 19th) about 
eighteen miles. 

On the morning of the 20th we did not go forward, and a number 
of Arabs and Moors came to see our masters and us. This place 
appeared to be a great thoroughfare : large droves of unloaded camels 
were passing up to the eastward from the way we had come, as well 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 97 

as from the southward, and also great numbers of loaded camels going 
towards the desart. Their loading consisted principally of sacks of 
b".«-l<ry, some salt and iron, together with other merchandise. 

4 luring the fore part of this day, several parties of men, in all from 
iixty to eighty, passed us; all mounted on handsome horses of the 
Arabian breed, well-bred and high-spirited : their riders were covered 
with cloaks or sulams, and everyone had a single barrelled musket in 
his hand, the stocks of which were curiously wrought and inlaid with 
small pieces of various coloured wood and ivory, arranged and fitted 
in a very particular manner. The locks of these muskets were of Lie 
Moorish kind, and very unhandy, though substantial, and they seldom 
miss fire, although their powder is bad and coarse grained. This 
and a good scimitar slung on their right side constitute the whole of 
their weapons : they depend more upon the scimitar for close quar- 
ters in battle than upon their musket, for, say they, this will never 
miss fire ; being similar to the practice which it is said the Russian 
General (Suwarrow) used to inculcate on his soldiers — "The ball 
will lose iis way, the bayonet never : the ball is a fool — the bayonet a 
hero." A Moor is ashamed to be without his scimitar; their scab- 
hards are made of brass, and plated on the outside with silver, but 
those worn by the Arabs are made of leather: these weapons both of 
the Moors and Arabs, are suspended from the neck by cords made of 
woolen yarn dyed red, or a strong braided leather thong. They call 
a scimitar or long knife el skinf.. 

These natives were of a different race of men from any we had 
hitherto seen : they wear a haick or piece of woolen cloth wrapped 
about their bodies, which covering them, falls down below their knees; 
or else a cloak called gzlahbia, made in a similar manner, cut with 
short sleeves, and one fold of the haick generally covered the head ; 
but those who had not their heads covered with their haick, or the 
hood of their gzlabbia or sulam, wore a kind of turban : the cloak or 
sulam is made of coarse black cloth, very shaggy, and much in the 
form of the European cloak, with a hood or head-piece to it; it is, 
however, sewed together part of the way down in front, so that to get 
it on, they slip it over their heads, and it covers their arms. They are 
generally stout men, of five feet eight or ten inches in height, and well 
set; their complexion a light olive. They wear their beards as long 
as they will grow, and consider a man without a great bushy beard an 
effeminate being, and hold him in great contempt. Their saddles 
were well made and very high, at least eight or ten inches, fitted be- 
fore and behind so as almost to make it impossible for the horse to 
throw his rider; their bridles are of the most powerful Arabian kind ; 
their stirrups are made of broad sheets of iron that cover alrno3t the 
whole foot — many of them are plated with silver. All the men wore 
slippers and spurs, and had their stirrups tied up very short. 

While we remained here, a very respectable looking old man, who 
spoke a few words of Spanish, after learning from our masters who 
we were, came to me and inquired about my country and my friends 
in Swearah; said he knew all the consuls there, and told me their 
names were Renshaw, Joseph, Estevan, and Corte. He said he was 
going to Swearah, and should be there in ten days, and would carry 
a letter for me if my master would let me write ; but we had no paper. 

E2 



I informed him that my friend was named Renshaw, guessing nim to 
be the English consul. This old man told my master he believed I 
spoke the truth, and that 1 had been at Swearah, which from his dis- 
course 1 understood to be the same as Mogadore. He then set off 
eastward on his mule, which was a very large and handsome one. 
Ail the people that passed here appeared very friendly to our masters ; 
they wished to know our story, and requested my opinion of their 
horses, saddles and bridles, muskets, scimitars, and accoutrements in 
general, &c. all of which I declared to be of the best possible kind. 
This morning Sidi Hamet bought a hive of honey, and undertook to 
give some of it to us, but was not able to carry his kind intentions into 
effect, for at the moment he was handing some to me, Hassar's men 
rushed on him and got possession of the whole, which they devoured 
in a minute : there was no getting it back, and after a long and violent 
dispute with Hassar and his company respecting it, he procured 
another hive, and being assisted by the man from whom he bought it, 
and a number of strangers, he succeeded in distributing amongst us 
about three pounds of the poorest part of the comb. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

The company is divided — They set off to the eastward — Their masters 
are attacked by a band of robbers. 

After we had eaten this, our masters prepared the camels, and 
Hassar's company divided, that is to say, two men and all the women 
and children took the plain great route which led east in a deep valley, 
driving off about one half of the camels; Hassar and th~ others drove 
off the rest (including ours) in a N. E. direction, and we with our 
masters, accompanied by two other men, proceeded along the river's 
eastern bank to the northward for a short distance, and then ascended 
the high, steep, and craggy mountains eastward of us. The labour 
in clambering up these steep precipices is indescribable ; we conti- 
nued mounting them as fast as possible for about four hours, and I 
was fully convinced our masters took that route for fear they should 
be followed and surprised in the night by some who had seen us, and 
thus be robbed of their slaves and other property. After climbing 
over the highest peaks of these mountains, we saw Hussar and part 
of his company who had driven the camels, and had gotten up by 
another and more practicable path. It was now near night, and we 
travelled along the craggy steeps, assisting one another over the most 
difficult parts, while Hassar sought out the easiest places for the 
ascent of the camels. Coming at length to a small level spot oi 
ground, we saw some tents, and directed our course towards them: 
the te<nts were twelve in number, and placed in a semicircle. Hav- 
ing approached to within one hundred yards in front of the largest 
one, our masters seated themselves on the ground with their backs 
towards the tents, and a woman soon came out bringing a bowl oi 
water, which she presented to them after the usual salutations of Labez, 
&c. Ate. 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 99 

Our masters drank of the water, and Sidi Humet was soon after 
presented with a bowl filled with dates lately plucked from tne trees 
and not fully ripe : these he gave to us ; though Seid, Abdallah, and 
Hassar snatched each a handful, to which we were forced to submit : 
we found th^m excellent, but did not know at that time what sort of 
fruit they were. Here we remained during the night, and rested our 
emaciated bodies, which were, if possible, more fatigued than they 
ever were before. 

October the 21st, we set off to the northward very early, and made 
down towards the sea through numerous steep gullies, and got on to 
the inclined plane below the former seashore, about mid-day; here 
were the same sort of marks in this bank that we had before observed, 
and the same signs of its having been laved by the ocean. We went 
along through the same kind of thick bushes as those I have before 
described, near to the cliffs that at present formed a barrier to the 
mighty waters, where we discovered a number of tents, and soon 
reached them. Here our masters Sidi Hamet and Hassar, were 
recognized by some of the men, who were in all about twenty, with 
their families : these people had large sacks of barley with them, which 
they had procured far eastward up the country. Sidi Hamet was now 
sick with violent pains in his head and in all his limbs. These people 
(who were Arabs, as all are who live in tents in the country) took 
compassion on him, and cleared a tent for him to lie under, where 
having made up a large fire, he kept his head towards it, turning about 
and almost roasting his brains, but obtained no relief from this manner 
of treating his disorder. He next had recourse to another singular 
remedy : he had a large knife put into the fire and heated red hot; 
then made Ins brother draw the back of it, hot as it was, several times 
across the top of his head, making it hiss (as may well be supposed) 
in all directions : — when it had in some measure cooled, he would 
again heat it as before, then making bare his legs and arms, he went 
through with the process of striking its back along them at the distance 
of three or four inches, scorching off the skin ; and though it made 
him twitch and jump at every touch, he continued to do it for the 
space of an hour or more. Burns had been very ill for some time, and 
was so weak that he scarcely was able to stand, and could not walk — 
he was, therefore, always placed on a camel, and as Sidi Hamet was 
now applying to himself a remedy for what lie thought a stroke of the 
moon, he undertook to administer the red hot knife to the limbs ol 
poor Burns, who from mere want of bodily strength was not able, poor 
fellow, to jump, but would at every touch cry out, "God have mercy 
upon me." As I was hungry, 1 begged of my masters to let me go and 
search for muscles on the sea beach, (for there was a hollow at a little 
distance, through which we might gain it,) but they refused, saying, 
"to-morrow, if God please, we shall be on the sea beach ; there are 
no muscles on this part of the coast :" here, however, we received a 
good supper of lhash, or pudding, and rested our wearied limbs under 
the tent with our masters. 

October the 22d, we went forward, driving our own camels only : as 
Hassar had taken (he young one, we had but three remaining ; so we 
rode by turns, crossing the deep hollows which had been worn down 
hv the rains or other causes, until afternoon, when we were forced to 



100 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

have recourse to the sea beach to get past one of these deep places, 
whose sides were so steep as to render a passage down it impracticable. 
When we gained the beach, we found ourselves on a narrow strip of 
land, which was then dry, the tide being out ; this extended in length 
eight or ten miles, but from the water's edge to the perpendicular cliffs 
on our right, not more than ten yards : these cliffs appeared to be one 
hundred and fifty feet in height. When we came to the sea water, 1 
\vent into it, and let a surf wash over me, that 1 might once more feel 
its refreshing effects ; but my master, fearing I should be carried away 
by the receding waves, told me not to go near them again. As we 
proceeded along this narrow beach, and had passed over half its length, 
the huge cliffs overhanging us on our right, with the ocean on our 
left— just as we were turning a point, we observed four men, armed 
each with a musket and scimitar, spring from beneath the jutting rocks, 
to intercept our march. Our masters were at this time on the camels, 
but they instantly leaped off, at the same time unsheathing their guns : 
to retreat would betray fear, and lead to inevitable destruction — so they 
determined to advance, two against four, and Sidi Hamet, though still 
in so weak a state as to be thought incapable of walking before he 
saw these men, now ran towards them with his musket in his hand, 
while Seid, that cruel coward, lagged behind — so true it is, that the 
most generous and humane men are always the mi st courageous. The 
foe was but a few paces from us, and stood in a line across the beach. 
Sidi Hamet, holding his gun ready to fire, demanded if it was peace? 
while he eyed their countenances to see if they were deceitful : one of 
them answered, "it is peace," and extended his hand to receive 
that of Sidi Hamet, who gave him his right hand, suspecting no 
treachery ; but the fellow grasped it fast, and would have shot him 
and Seid in a moment, but at that critical juncture, two of Hassar's 
men came in sight, running like the wind towards us, with each a 
double barrelled gun in his hand, all ready to fire; the robbers saw 
them as they turned the point, and the fellow who had seized Sidi 
Hamet's hand, instantly let it go, turning the affair off with a loud laugh, 
and saying he only did it to frighten him : this excuse was deemed 
satisfactory, merely because our men did not now feel themselves 
Sufficiently strong to resent this insult, and we proceeded on : but 
these fellows, who were very stout and active, liovered around us, 
slaves, endeavouring to separate us from our masters, as it appeared, in 
the hope of seizing on us as their own, which Sidi Hamet observing, 
ordered me with my men to keep close to the camels' heels, while he 
and his company (now strong, though none of them armed with 
scimitars) kept between us and th*e banditti. When they found that 
our masters were too vigilant for them, they took French leave of us, 
and ran along the beach with incredible swiftness, chasing each other, 
and taking up and throwing stones, that 1 should suppose would weigh 
from six to eight pounds, with a jerk that made them whiz through the 
air like cannon balls: they threw them against the cliffs of rocks, which 
resounded with the blow, and many of the stones were dashed, to 
pieces as they struck. I could seethe marks they aimed at, and that 
the stones went with great precision, as well as force. I had before no 
uiea that it was possible for men to acquire by practice such enormous 
power of arm ; for they threw these stones with such velocity, that I 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 101 

am convinced they would have killed a man at the distance of fifty 
yards at least. 

Having come to the end of the beach, we ascended the bank again, 
leaving these formidable ruffians masters of the shore, where they, no 
doubt, got some plunder before they left it. After we had mounted 
the bank and were clear, Sidi Hamet told me that the fellows we had 
met were very bad men, and would have killed him and Seid, and would 
have taken us away where 1 could never have hoped to see my wife and 
children again, if the great God had not at that t ; tne sent to our relief 
the two meu : he then asked if 1 would fight to save his life ? I told 
him 1 would, and that no one should kill him while I was alive, if it 
was in my power to prevent it : " Good Riley, (said he,) you are worth 
fighting for ; God is with you, or I must have lost my life there." 



CHAPTER XVII. 

Some fresh fish are procured — They pass several small walled villages, 
and meet ivith robbers on horseback. 

v 
Near evening we met and passed a man driving an ass laden with 
fish, probably of from ten to twelve pounds weight each : they had 
much the shape and appearance of salmon, and our masters endeavoured 
to procure one from the owner for me, as I gave them to understand I 
was very fond offish, and that it would be good for Burns, but the man 
would not part with one of them on any terms. At evening we 
found Hassar's and his family's tents already pitched on a little hill 
ear the cliffs, and we joined this company. Soon after, Seid, Abdallah, 
and twc of Hassar's men, went out with their guns : — in about two 
hours, those with us, namely, Sidi Hamet, Hassar, and two others, 
hearing foot steps approaching, seized their muskets, and springing 
forward from their tents, demanded, who came there ? It was Seid and 
his company, who came towards me, and unfolding a blanket, turned 
out four large fish of the same kind we had seen before. "Riley, (said 
Sidi Hamet,) are these good to eat ?" I answered in the affirmative — 
" take them and eat them, then, (said he,) but be careful not to choke 
yourselves with the bones." I took three of them, cut them into pieces, 
and put them into an earthen pot that belonged to Hassar, (this pot the 
Arabs call giderah,) added some water, and boiled them directly, and 
we ate till we were satisfied. We drank the soup, which was extremely 
grateful and invigorating, and helped to check the dysentery, with 
which we were all much troubled since eating the honey-comb. We 
bad trave.led this day, 1 think, about forty miles, and slept at night 
within a circle formed by our masters and their camels, out of which 
we were not suffered to go, as Sidi Hamet told me there were many 
robbers in this place, who would seize on us, and carry us off in a 
minute, without the possibility of my ever being restored to my family. 
October 21st, at day break, we set forward on our journey, all in 
company, (except Hassar and the women and children.) The fiesh 
fish we had eaten the night before,Jiad made us very thirsty ; and about 
noon we came to a kind of cistern, or reservoir of water, on the path- 



102 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

way side : this reservoir was built of stone and lime ; its top was 
arched like a vault, rising about four feet from the ground, and the 
cistern was at least eighty feet in length, eight or ten feet in breadth in 
the inside, and appeared to be twenty feet deep. It was now nearly 
full of water, which had been led into it by means of gutters, formed 
and arranged so as to receive and conduct the rain water when it 
descends from the neighbouring hills, and is collected in a stream in 
this valley. I understood this water was the common property of all 
travellers along this route, and that the cistern was built by a very 
rich and pious man, solely for the purpose of refreshing the weary 
traveller, and that it contained water the whole year round, even 
though there should be a continued drought for a twelvemonth ; but 
no person of our party ventured to water his camel from it, considering 
it as sacred for the use of man alone. We were still travelling on the 
slope between the first and second banks of the sea, which in these 
parts was much cut up, occasioned by the waters which had from time 
to time poured down from the neighbouring mountains, and formed 
steep and very deep gullies, across which we were obliged to climb. 
The path on this inclined plane was not much frequented, and the 
margin of the bank on our right hand had been newly ploughed in 
many places here and there, in the nooks or fertile hollows. On the 
high lands we saw two small wailed towns, with prickly-pear bushes 
planted around them. Near these towns or walled villages, some men 
were employed in ploughing with a pair of beasts, generally a cow and 
an ass yoked together in a very singular manner, which 1 shall hereafter 
describe, and others were watching flocks of sheep and goats on the 
surrounding eminences, while the women were seen lugging down 
wood on their backs from the tops of the lofty hills, and large jars or 
pitchers of water from a distant valley. They generally had a child 
on their backs, clinging with its arms round the neck of the mother, 
and the jar or pitcher rested on their shoulders in a manner that 
reminded me of the story of the beautiful Rebekah, in holy writ, 
coming to the well with her pitcher. 

About noon, we came near a considerable walled village, that stood 
close by the road ; it had gardens close by the walls on all sides, and 
there was one near the gateway planted with prickly-j.ear. These 
gardens were defended by heaps of dry thorn bushes, which served as 
an outward defence to the town : these heaps were about six feet high, 
and the walls fifteen feet. Our masters stopped near the gate for some 
moments, and no one seemed disposed to give them a drink of water, 
contenting themselves with gazing at them over the walls; so on they 
went, cursing the inhospitality of these villagers. Near night we 
descended into a delightful valley, whose bottom was Jevel and well 
disposed into handsome gardens, fenced in with thorn bushes and 
stone walls, and divided into numerous separate plots. Round about 
them, and at their corners, stood many fine fig-trees, which looked 
healthy, though they were leafless, owing to the lateness of the season : 
we saw also a few pomegranate-trees. These gardens or plots were 
planted with different kinds of vegetables, such as turnips, cabbage, 
onions, &c. ; they were watered by a small stream that flowed from 
the hills at a short distance above, and was conducted round and through 
Jhe whole of them by gutters dug for that purpose. 



SUFFER1XGS IN AFRICA. 103 

The owners of these gardens lived in two little walled villages, neai 
the top of the bank on the east side, but they offered us no refreshment. 
We passed ; n the course of the day, three beds of streams or rivers, 
which were now dry, and one whose mouth was filled with sand, so as 
to stop its communication with the sea, though there was some water 
in it, where people from all quarters were watering their cows, sheep, 
goats, asses, and camels, and carrying it offin skins and pitchers. In 
th.3 afternoon, a company of ten men on horseback, and well armed, 
rode towards us on the plain, making a loud jingling with their spurs 
against their stirrups, and crying out, Hah ! han ! hah ! hah ! Our 
company consisted of our two masters, and two of Hassar's men, 
Abdallah, and one stranger, who had joined us that day ; and being 
armed with five double barrelled muskets, and some scimitars, they all 
sprang from their camels on the approach of the strangers, drew their 
guns from their sheaths, primed them anew, and took a station in front 
of their properly, in a line ready for action. 

The horsemen rode up to within five yards of our men at full speed, 
and then stopped their horses short. I expected now to see a battle, 
though I rather feared our men would be trampled to death by the 
horses ; for their arms could not have saved them from the shock of this 
impetuous onset, yet they were on the point of firing the moment the 
horses stopped. The chief of the horsemen then demanded, in a very 
imperious tone, who our masters were ? where they came from ? if 
they knew Sidl Ishem ? what countrymen we, their slaves, were ? and 
where they had found us? Sidi Hamet replied to all their questions in 
a sharp quick manner, and as briefly as possible, and in his turn 
demanded, " who are you ? where do you come from ? and, what 
right have you to ride up to me in such a manner, and stop me and my 
slaves on the road ?" This is as near as I could understand what they 
said. A loud dispute was kept up on both sides for half an hour, when 
it ceased, and we were allowed to proceed ; while the others rode of] 
to the southward among the mountains. The force on both sides was 
so nearly equal, that I have little doubt this was the only circumstance 
that prevented a battle. 

We travelled on till long after dark, when we came to a number of 
tents, and stopped for the night, and here we were treated with some 
dried muscles and barley pudding. Hassar and his family had not 
travelled with us the last day, but the two men who had assisted in 
relieving us from our critical situation on the beach, were in company, 
and we had also been joined by one more Arab, and two camels. 
Ever since we had come to the cultivated country off the desart, we 
had found the people sickly ; many of them were afflicted with swelled 
legs, and some with what I took to be the leprosy ; and also with pain? 
in different parts of their bodies and limbs ; though when on the 
desart we did not see the smallest sign of sickness or disorder among 
its inhabitants. They now considered us as skilled in medicine, and 
consulted me wherever 1 came ; one of the women here had a swelled 
breast, which was astonishingly large, and very much inflamed : she 
was in such pain as to cry out "at every breath. They wished me to 
examine it, and prescribe a remedy, which 1 did by reccmmending a 
poultice of the barley lhash, or pudding, to be applied, and renewed 
often until the swelling should subside or burst. The woman was 



104 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

very thankful, gave me a drink of water and a handful of muscles, and 
requested 1 would examine a swelled leg of her brother ; this was 
also inflamed, and very painful : — perceiving no skin broken, 1 directed 
a thick plaster of coarse salt to be bound round it, so as fully to cover 
the afflicted part ; this they did immediately, and the man thought he 
felt instantaneous relief. 

From the great expedition we had used, 1 think we must have 
travelled this day about fifty miles, as we were almost continually on 
the camels, and they going a great part of the time on a trot. In the 
afternoon of this Jay, we discovered land that was very high, a good 
way eastward of us, stretching about north as far as the eye could 
reach. We saw it when on a high hill, and at an immense distance ; 
looking over the ocean, which was near us, it appeared like a high and 
distant island : "There is Swearah, Riley," said Sidi Hamet, pointing 
to the northernmost land in view : it was a great way off. 1 asked him 
how many days it would take us to get there 1 He answered, " Ten, 
fit our slow pace." 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Their masters commit an error, tvhich they are compelled to redress— 
Sidi Hamet and his brother Seid fight — Horace^ critical situation — 
They come to villages. 

October the 23d, we were awakened without making any noise, 
two hours before daylight, and went on our journey. 1 suspected there 
was some roguery going on, because we had never before started in the 
night ; and we had not travelled more than two leagues, when, just at 
the dawn of day, we heard the sound of horses' feet coming up at full 
speed behind us : the clanking of the arms of their riders against each 
other, and spurs against their stirrups, made a great noise. Our 
masters stripped the covers from their guns, and gave them to me to 
carry. The horsemen, four in number, came up by this time, and 
passing us at a short distance on our right, rode round before our camels 
and stopped them. Our men were five in number, with four double bar- 
relled guns; and bidding me to keep as close to them as possible with 
my men, they ran at their greatest speed to the encounter, whilst we 
followed on as fast as we could, fearing to be separated from them, (as 
it was still quite dark,) and falling into the hands of the banditti. 
They approached each other with loud cries ; the voices of those on 
horseback sounded like trumpets, and those of our masters were very 
little lower, so that the mountains near rang again with the sound. I 
expected every moment a slaughter would commence : each one 
strained his throat to speak, or rather to yell louder than his opponents. 
I had approached near my master, and could distinctly hear one of the 
horsemen accuse him of a breach of hospitality, and reproach him in 
the most opprobrious terms, for some wrong which he alleged had 
been done to him ; the others were at the same time wrangling with 
our other men. This war of words having subsided a little, one of 
them asked my master his name, and after considerable delay on 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 105 

account of punctilio, (each insisting that the other should tell his 
Dame first.) my master told him his name was Sidi Hamet ; the other 
then said his name was Ali Mohammed : — then ensued a long dispute 
between them, they mutual^ charging each other with perfidy, &c. 
During this interval, and as daylight appeared, our adversaries gained 
strength, for they were joined by many armed and unarmed men, 
running on foot, and according as they increased in force, our party 
lowered their tone ; but the clamour was still so loud that I frequently 
could understand nothing of what was said. The Arab who had joined 
our company with two camels the day before, did not set out with us 
this morning, but he now came running up : our masters had driven off 
his camels, and this was the cause of the uproar that was now raging. 
The purloined camels were then in our drove, and while the others were 
quarrelling about the matter, the owner ran round and drove his camels 
back. When our honest masters found they could not keep what they 
had feloniously taken, they began to lower their voices. By this time 
the sun had made its appearance, and for two hours prior I had every 
moment expected a bloody scuffle. I knew our masters were brave, 
but I had no doubt they would be overpowered by numbers, in which 
event we should fall to the lot of the conquerors, who were strangers 
to us ; and it was not probable that these men would be as humane to 
us as Sidi Hamet had been ; nor was I indeed certain that we ourselves 
should not be killed in the contest, both partes being much enraged. 
1 felt our situation to be dreadful indeed ; but at length Sidi Hamet 
spoke to Ali Mohammed in a low tone of voice, and requested he 
would ride apart from the others with him, with which he complied, 
and they came near where 1 sat, trembling with apprehension. Sidi 
Hamet now told Ali that his party had not the least intention of driving 
off any camels but their own, and that the mistake had been occasioned 
entirely by the darkness of the night. He then went on protesting 
that he was incapable of committing an unworthy action ; that he 
abhorred a robber and a thief, and that as he was entirely innocent of 
intentionally driving off the man's camels, he would not acknowledge 
he had done wrong designedly, but would rather lose his life in main- 
taining his character, and would sell it as dearly as possible. Ali 
Mohammed on this appeared to be satisfied, and said to him, " I am 
el Rais, (the chief,) and am your friend, because you are a brave man :" 
so making Sidi Hamet's excuse to those about him, and the lost 
camels being recovered, they left us to pursue our journey. 

We had gone up from the sea-board, and were passing between high 
mountains towards the southeast, when the late affray happened, but 
about noon we reached a plain, and took an eastern direction. Has- 
sar's men with their camels, and Abdallah with his camel, now filed 
off to the left, leaving us with our masters and their own camels only, 
and were soon out of sight among the bushes. The mortifying result 
of the morning's enterprise, had rendered Seid uncommonly ill 
natured : he had claimed Horace as his slave from the very beginning, 
and Mr. Savage also belonged to him. He had always doubted niy 
word to his brother, and would not believe that a miserable wretch like 
me could find a friend to advance money for my ransom, though both 
he, Ha,ssar, and all the company, had a high opinion of my courage, 
sjyace 1 put my own life in jeopardy to save that of Mr. Savage, at thei 



106 captain riley's narrative, 

time he fainted ; — Seid had endeavoured to sell his slaves at everj 
place we came to, after leaving the desart. Hassar, as well as others, 
took a particular fancy to Horace, and had offered a large sum for him 
in camels and other merchandise, but the interference of Sidi Hamet, 
who had sworn that Horace should not be separated from me, aided by 
my often renewed entreaties and my tears, whenever 1 heard it sug- 

tested, had saved him thus far. As we were now approaching the 
loorish dominions, powerful chiefs, with large bodies of armed men 
intent on plunder, were riding about and scouring the country in every 
direction, and Seid had come to a determination to take his slaves and 
make the most of them. Seid was a younger brother of Sidi Hamet, 
and had, until now, submitted in some degree to his counsel, though 
they had many slight quarrels at different periods of the journey. 
Where we stopped the preceding night, the Arabs strove hard to get 
possession of Horace. Seid had, to my knowledge, made a bargain to 
sell him in the morning, but was dissuaded from fulfilling it by his 
brother. 

We, slaves, were now five in all, travelling on foot, but moving for- 
ward very slowly, for we were worn to the bones by our various and 
complicated sufferings. It seemed that the breath of hope alone had 
kept the vital spark from being totally extinguished. Sidi Hamet was 
riding on his big camel before us, when Seid ordered us to halt, but 
the other desired us to come on; upon which Seid laid hold of Mr. 
Savage and Horace, and stopped them. It was now that Sidi Hamet's 
wrath was kindled — he leaped from his camel, and darting like light- 
ning up to Seid, laid hold of him, and disengaged Mr. Savage and 
Horace from his grasp. They clinched each other like lions, and 
with fury in their looks, each strove to throw the other to the ground. 
Seid was the largest and stoutest man ; they writhed and twined in 
every shape until both fell, but Sidi Hamet was undermosi: fire 
seemed to flash from their eyes, whilst they twisted around each other 
like a couple of serpents, until at length Sidi Hamet, by superioi 
activity or skill, disengaged himself from his brother's grasp, and 
both sprang up on their feet. Instantly they snatched their muskets 
at the same moment, and each retiring a few paces with great rapidity 
and indignation, tore the cloth covers from their guns, and presented 
them at each other's breast with dreadful fury : — they were not more 
than ten yards asunder, and both must have fallen dead, had they 
fired. Horror had seized and chilled my blood, so that 1 could 
neither get from them, nor move, indeed, in any direction. My mind 
was filled with inexpressible apprehensions — "My God, (I cried aloud J 
have mercy on these unfortunate brothers, I pray thee, for our sakes, 
and suffer them not to spill each other's blood." In the midst of this 
ejaculation, I was started by the report of two muskets, and imagined 
that both the brothers had fallen ; but on turning my eyes again to 
this direful scene, I perceived that Sidi Hamet had fired the contents 
of both his barrels into the air, having had a moment's reflection, 
whilst priming and cocking his piece. He now threw it on the ground, 
then making bare his bosom, he advanced with a firm step towards 
Seid, and with an energetic voice exclaimed, " I am now unarmed, 
fire ! your brother's heart is ready to receive your balls ; glut your 
vengeance on your benefactor." He stopped short : Seid hesitated 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 107 

Mr. Savage and Horace were near Seid, who threatened them with 
instant death if they moved. Sidi Ha met, rinding his brother's mind 
wavered, ran to Horace, and sent him towards me, telling his brother, 
he should have Clark in Horace's stead, whom he ordered to come 
near; but Seid would not consent to the exchange, whereupon my 
master added Burns ; that is, two for one. Seid had made Mr. Savage 
sit down, and had placed one of his feet on his thigh, to keep him 
there ; while his brother ordered me to go with Horace, first to the 
sooih and then to the eastward, following the camels ; still resolving 
that we should not be separated, and bade Mr. Savage follow us ; but 
Seid, presenting his gun, told him if he offered to go, he would blow 
his brains out. As Sidi Hamet, however, bade him run, lie obeyed, 
and when he came near me we were all ordered to stop, and our mas- 
ters seated themselves on the ground to settle the dispute by figuring 
on the sand with their fingers. Here they calculated it every way. 
Clark and Burns were again offered for Horace, but Seid would not 
take them; he would keep the slave he had bought with his money. 
"You shall not separate him from his father, (said my master,) I have 
sworn it." "Then I will destroy him," exclaimed Seid furiously, 
and springing up, he seized Horace by the breast and dashed him on 
the ground with all his might. The force of the blow beat the breath 
from his boa'y, and he lay stretched out apparently dead. Over- 
whelmed with the most heart-rending emotions, 1 sank to the earth in 
an agony of despair. My master, observing my anguish, said, " Go, 
Riley," pointing to the east. With tears and sobs, I told him I could 
go, fur Horace, my son, was dead. After a flood of tears had relieved 
my swelling heart, I reflected that it was useless to bewiil the fate of 
my adopted child, as 1 did not know how soon it might be my turn to 
suffer a similar, or perhaps a more cruel death. Seid's passion now 
began to subside a little, and my master then went to Horace, and 
taking him by the hands, raised him upon his seat : his breath returned, 
and he revived. Sidi Hamet melted into tears at the sight: 1 saw 
the big drops roll down his cheeks, while in a tender tone^ he said to 
Horace, " Go to Riley." The spot where his head fell happened to 
be clear of stones, which entirely covered the ground on every side, 
otherwise his brains must have been dashed out. 1 went up to him 
as quick as I could, and folding him in tny arms, asked him if he 
was much hurt ; but being in great pain, and his breathing being not 
yet perfectly restored, he was incapable of answering me: his heart, 
however, was in unison with mine, in thanking the Author of our being 
that his life was spared, and in imploring his future protection. Our 
masters again seated themselves, in order to discuss this affair tho- 
roughly, and began to speak very loud, when, fortunately for us, some 
strangers came in sight, which reminded them that their united force 
was necessary for the defence of themselves and their property; so 
they agreed to seek a village, and take counsel as to what was best to 
be done. 

Then turning to our left up a hill, we soon came in sight of a vil- 
lage, and entered it by passing between high walls. Having come tc 
its farthest extremity, an old," but a very respectable looking man. (fc 
Moor,) of a light olive colour, came out of his gate, and welcomed 
our masters, saluting them, (as is customary,) and seeing us behind. 



108 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

told us to sit down in a shade formed by his wall, and rest ourselves ; 
adding, " 1 will give you some food." We accordingly all seated our- 
selves, and while the food was preparing, our host inquired much 
about me and my men, and wished to know how I could make myself 
understood, (being a Christian.) Our owners told him all our stories, 
together with my promises, which they made me repeat in his pre- 
sence. They wanted again to know in what my property consisted ; 
if I had any money in my own country, or a house; how much 
money, how many horses, cows, sheep, goats, asses, camels, &c. ; 
and lastly, what number of wives and children 1 had. Having answer- 
ed all these interrogations to their satisfaction, they made me tell 
what Mr. Savage, Horace, Clark, and Burns, were worth to me ; how 
much property I thought they had in their own cquntry ; and our host, 
who spoke a (ew words of broken Spanish, asked me if Swearah was 
not called Mogdola by the English ? I answered in the affirmative: — 
this was the first time I had heard this name mentioned on this con- 
tinent, though I had endeavoured, by inqnrring of all the people 1 had 
spoken with, to ascertain the point ; but it appeared they had never 
heard of the name. One bowl of boiled Parley unhulled, was brought 
out to our masters, and one for us — this last was a very large one, and 
the old host told us to eat, saying, " Cook, Rais" (jpat, captain.) 
We had now before us, for the first time, enough of this food, and 
falling to with keen appetites, we filled cir stomachs, and were satis- 
fied, leaving some in the bowl, which they tried hard to make us 
finish, but we could not. Sidi Hamet would not trust himself again 
with his brother, without having some person in company to take his 
part ; so he hired a stout young fellow, named Bo-Mohammed, to go 
along with us to another place or village, not far distant, and we set 
off for it, travelling at first down towardc the sea-coast, and passing 
along a kind of sandy beach where the salt water flowed in at high 
tides : we saw there, under he side of a shelving rock, two boiling 
springs of fresh water, which formed a considerable stream. This was 
the first spring I had seen in this couni.y, and having taken a good 
drink and watered our camels, we proceeded towards the southeast 
among sands that had drifted from tne scabeach ; there we remained 
until it was nearly dark, our masters fearing, as it were, to go forward. 
About dark we resumed our course, ana soon afterwards arrived at a 
village, where, while the barking of numerous dogs announced to their 
owners the arrival of strangers, a grave looking man came out, and 
silencing the curs, bade our masters welcome, and invited both them 
and us to sit down near his walls, until he should prepare some supper. 
We had no desire, however, for food, some of us having oppressed 
onr stomachs to such a degree with the boiled barley, as tu be racked 
with pain, and scarce able to breathe, particularly Mr. Savage. Our 
present host, (whose name 1 soon learned was Sidi Mohammed,) after 
causing a mat to be spread near his wall, seated himself and our mas- 
ters thereon, and desired me to come and do the same. He now made 
similar inquiries to those made by the former persons we had met, 
and 1 satisfied his curiosity as well as 1 could. He then informed me 
he had been many times in Swearah, ana had seen the consuls, and 
wished me to repeat my promise to Sidi Hamet, which 1 did. He 
bad a lamp for a light, so that he could see every motion that I mad 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 109 

well enough to comprehend me entirely. By this time some cakes 
had been baked, which were presented to our masters, and of which 
they gave us some : these cakes were made of barley meal, ground 
coarse ; yet it was bread, and it being the first we had seen, we ate a 
little of it, though our stomachs were not yet prepared to enjoy the 
treat. After they had eaten and washed their hands and feet, and 
talked over their affairs, Sidi Hamet again called me to him, and told 
me he should set out in the morning for Swearah, in company with 
our host, Sidi Mohammed, where he hoped, with God's blessing, to 
arrive in three days, for he should travel on a mule, (bugelah,) and 
push on night and day : that I must write a letter to my friend, which 
he would carry; and, said he, " if your friend will fulfil your engage- 
ments, and pay the money for jou. and your men, you shall be free — 
if not, yon must die for having deceived me, and your men shall be 
sold for what they will bring. I have fought for you, (added he,) have 
suffered hunger, thirst, and fatigue, to restore you to your family, tor 
1 believe God is with you. 1 have paid away all my money on your 
word alone. Seid and Bo-Mohammed will stay and guard you during 
my absence : they will give you as much Jchobs (bread) and lhash 
(pudding) as you can eat; so go and sleep till morning." This night 
was spent on my part in a state of anxiety not easy to conceive : — to 
whom should 1 write ? I knew noboby at Mogadore, and yet 1 must 
take my chance. 1 remembered my remarkable dream — it had lite- 
rally come to pass thus far — why should I doubt its whole accomplish 
ment ? yet I could not rest. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

The author writes a letter — Sidi Hamet sets out with it for Swearah — 
The arrival ofSheick AH, an extraordinary character. 

Early the next morning we were called up, and directed to go 
within the gates. My master said to me, " Come, Riley, write a 
letter," giving me at the same time a scrap of paper, not so wide as 
my hand, and about eight inches long ; he had also got a little black 
staining liquid and a reed to write with. 1 now begged hard to be 
taken along with him, but he would not consent, though I told him I 
would leave my son, whom I loved more than myself, behind me as an 
hostage, and three men ; but all would not do, the thing was determi- 
ned on. He then told me, that what I had agreed to give him was not 
sufficient ; that I must tell my friend, in the letter, to pay two hundred 
dollars for myself, two hundred for Horace, two hundred for Aaron, 
one hundred and sixty for Clark, and the same for Burns, adding, that 
I had promised him a good double barrelled gun, and 1 must give him 
that, and one to Seid also. " Seid is a bad man, (said he,) but helped 
to save your life, and must have a gun." So I took the reed, and 
wrote on the slip of paper, as near as I can recollect, the following 
letter. 

44 Sir — The brig Commerce, from Gibraltarfor America, was wrecked 
or Cape Bajador, on the 28th August last ; myself and four of my crew 



110 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

are here nearly naked, in barbarian slavery : I conjure you by all the 
ties that bind man to man, by those of kindred blood, and every thing 
you hold most dear, and by as much as liberty is dearer than life, to 
advance the money required for our redemption, which is nine hundred 
and twenty dollars, and two double barrelled guns. I can draw for 
any amount, the moment I am at liberty, on Batard, Sampson & 
Sharp, London — Cropper & Benson, Liverpool — Munro & Burton, 
Lisbon, or on Horatio Sprague, Gibraltar. Should you not. relieve 
me, my life must instantly pay the forfeit. 1 leave a wife and five 
helpless children to deplore my death. My companions are Aaron 
R. Savage, Horace Savage, James Clark, and Thomas Burns. 1 left 
six more in slavery on the desart. My present master, Sidi Hamet, 
will hand you this, and tell you where we are — he is a worthy man. 
Worn down to the bones by the most dreadful of all sufferings—naked 
and a slave, 1 implore your pity, and trust that such distress will not 
be suffered to plead in vain. For God's sake, send an interpreter and 
a guard for us, if that is possible. I speak French and Spanish. 

James Riley, late Master and 

Supercargo of the brig Commerce." 

While 1 was writing the above, they procured an additional scrap 
of paper, being a part of a Spanish bill of lading, on which 1 wrote a 
part of my letter, that could not be written legibly on the first scrap. 
Having folded them up, I directed them to the " English, French, 
Spanish, or American consuls, or any Christian merchants in Moga- 
dore or Swearah." I purposely omitted mentioning that we were 
Americans, because I did not know that there was an American agent 
there, and I had no doubt of there being an English consul or agent 
in that place. My master was hurrying me while I was writing, and 
both he and my host, Seid, and the young man, and many others who 
stood by, were surprised to see me make the Arabic numerals ; for 
the characters we use in arithmetic are no other than the real ancient 
Arabic fi^ares, which have served them for thousands of years ; they 
remarked to each other that I must have been a slave before to some 
Arabian, who had taught me the use of them, contrary to their law, 
because he had found me to be a smart active fellow. My master 
taking my letter, then mounted one mule, and Sidi Mohammed ano- 
ther, and rode off together very fast to the east. ■ 

We remained here seven days, during which time they kept us shut 
up in the yard in the day time, where the cows, sheep, and asses rest- 
ed, and at night they locked us up in a dreary cellar. Seid and Bo- 
Mohammed guarded us all the day, not because they feared we would 
attempt to escape, but because some of the neighbouring people 
might steal and run off with us, and in the night time they lay on their 
arms outside the door, to prevent a surprise. We had as much bailey 
bread twice a day as we wanted, lhash once a day, and plenty of water. 
This food, though palatable, produced and kept up a continual dysen- 
tery ; our bowels seemed to ferment like beer, and we were tortured 
with cholics. Our numerous sores had now time to heal, and «>,ur 
bodies became mostly skinned over before our masters returned ; bni 
the hemorrhoids distressed us extremely- All the inhabitants who 
lived near, and all those who heard that Christians were in the place* 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. Ill 

(for ftiey call all Europeans Christians,) came to see us. Some were 
eery familiar, and all wished to know if we were mechanics : rrommat 
circumstance 1 concluded that mechanics were very much wanted, and 
oi' great importance among these people, and that there would be no 
possibility of getting clear of them, if once they should find out our 
usefulness in that way. 1 therefore told them that we were all brought 
up sailors from our childhood, and knew no other business. One tried 
to make me lay out and hew a pair of posts for a door to a house that 
was building within the walls of the village, and gave me a line to 
measure the length of them, and tried to teach me to span it off; but 
I wouldjjot understand him. They next put a kind of adze into my 
hand, aim bade me fit the posts in. I took the tool, and began to cut 
at random, gouging out a piece here, and splitting it there, doing more 
hurt than good ; and, at the same time, by my awkward and clumsy 
manner, taking care 10 make them believe that 1 could do no better. 
Some were satisfied that I had done my very best, but by far the 
greater part of them were of opinion that a smart application of the 
whip would put my mechanical powers into complete operation, andl 
really expected they would apply this stimulus; for one of them ran 
and fetched a stout stick, and was about to lay it on, when Bo-Mo- 
hammed, who represented Sidi Hamet, interfered and saved me from 
a cudgelling. Mr. Savage, Clark, Burns, and Horace, were each tried 
in their turns, who, following my instructions, were soon relieved from 
all further requisition. From this circumstance it is evident, that the 
less useful a Christian makes himself when a slave to the Arabs, espe- 
cially in a mechanical way, the less value they will set upon him, and 
he will not only have a chance of getting ransomed, but it may be ef- 
fected on easier terms than otherwise ; for I am fully convinced, that 
if we had shown ourselves capable in those arts which the Arabs 
highly prize, such as carpenters, smiths, shoemakers, &c. &c. we 
should have been sold at high prices, and soon carried away beyond 
the possibility of redemption. 

Four days after Sidi Hamet's departure, some papers were shown 
to me by one of the men who lived in the neighbourhood, which I 
found, on examination, to be, first, the register of the Spanish schooner 
Maria, issued by the custom-house at Cadiz, in May 1814 ; second, 
a bill of sale of the same schooner, made out at the island of Grand 
Canary in 1812, of the same date with the register. Many articles 
of clothing that had belonged to her crew were also shown me ; and 
the topmast, jib-boom, and other small spars of a vessel, served to 
support the floor over our nightly prison. 1 made inquiries as far as 
it was possible, in order to find out something respecting this vessel, 
which I presumed must have been wrecked near this place ; and was 
informed that the preceding year a schooner anchored on this part of 
the coast to catch fish, and to trade ; that these people found means to 
ger alongside of her in the night in boats, and after killing the captain 
and three men, got possession of her ; when having taken out I he 
money and other valuables, they cut her cables, and ran her on snore : 
that they then made the surviving part of the crew assist in tearing the 
wreck to pieces, and in carrying; it up to build houses with. 1 asked 
how many people were on board her, and where the remainder of the 
crew were ; and was informed by a serious looking uld man, that it 



112 

consisted of seventeen souls at first ; that four were slain in the con 
flict when she was captured ; that five more had died since, and that 
the remaining eight were a great way off to the southeast, where they 
were employed in working on the land and making houses. Others 
said, they had gone to Swearah, and from thence to their own country; 
but 1 could easily perceive by their looks tnat those poor fellows had 
either been massacred, or were now held in slavery, where neither the 
voice of liberty, nor the hand of friendship, was ever likely to reach 
them. The people here, both old and young, could speak many 
words of Spanish, though they did not know their meaning, but made 
use o( them at a venture at all times — thsse were a set of f the very 
coarsest and most vulgar words the Spanish language affords, and had 
been uttered, no doubt, by poor unfortunate slaves, natives of Spain, 
when they were suffering the greatest misery, and when execrating 
these savages. One young fellow spoke several words of English, 
such as " good morning — good night," &c. and was master of a con- 
siderable list of curses. He one day came up to Mr. Savage, and 
said — " button, cut it wit a nif," and at the same time laid hold of a 
button on his pantaloons. Mr. Savage was very much surprised to 
hear a language he could understand ; but^these words and the oaths 
and curses, constituted the whole of his English education. Every 
person here had either a long knife or a scimitar always slung by his 
side. Among the rest, several negroes came to look at us, some of 
whom were slaves and some free, and they were all Mohammedans : 
these were allowed to sit on a mat beside our masters, and make 
remarks on us as we were placed among the fresh manure at a short 
distance. Seid desired to know what we called black men : 1 told 
him negroes ; at which name the negroes seemed very indignant, and 
much enraged. 

On the sixth day of my master's absence, a man arrived and took 
up his lodging with our guards : he was aoout six feet in height, and 
proportionably stout ; his colour was something between that of a 
negro and an Arab : when he came in he was saluted by Seid and the 
others in company by the name of Sheick Ali, (or AH the chief.) 
This man possessed talents of that superior cast which never fail to 
command the greatest respect, and at the same time to inspire dread, 
awe, and reverence. He appeared to be only a guest or visitor. In 
his deportment he was grave and dignified : he raised his voice on 
occasions terribly, and spoke in tones almost of thunder ; yet when 
he wished to please by condescension and courtesy, it thrilled on the 
ear like sounds of softest music : his manner and air were very com- 
manding, and his whole aspect and demeanour bore the stamp of the 
most daring courage and unflinching firmness. He was the most elo- 
quent man I had ever heard speak ; persuasion dwelt upon his 
tongue; while he spoke, all the company observed trie most profound 
silence, and with open mouths seemed to ; nhalehis honied sentences. 
He pronounced with the most perfect emphasis; the elegant cadence, 
so much admired in eastern oratory, seemed to have acquired new 
beauties from his manner of delivery : his articulation was so clear 
and distinct, and his countenance and actions so intelligent and 
expressive, that J. could understand him perfectly, though he spoke in 
the Arabic language. He would settle ah controverted points among 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. IIS 

the disputants when applied to, in an instant, and yet with the upmost * 
gracefulness and dignity. This extraordinary chief was often conver- 
sing in a low tone of voice with Seid respecting me and my men : he 
said he believed me to be a very artful fellow, and capable of any action 
either good or bad ; and said he did not doubt but my friends would 
raise any sum of money that might be demanded for my ransom. He 
regretted very much that he had not seen Sidi Hamet before he set 
out for Swearah, and concluded to remain with us until his return. 
He questioned me very particularly as to my country, my friends, 
family, property, &c. ; he also wished to know all the story of my 
shipwreck, and was very curious to find out what quantity of money and 
what other property fell into the hands of those who first met with us 
after the vessel was wrecked, and what crime was committed to induce 
these Moslemin to kill Antonio. He next examined our bodies all 
over, and on one of Clark's arms his attention was arrested by a cross, 
and several other marks of Christian insignia that had been pricked in 
with Indian ink, in the manner of the Spanish and other sailors : the 
stain remained entire, though the skin had many times been changed, 
and now seemed drawn tight over the bone. This being a conclusive 
proof in the Sheick's mind of Christianity, he pronounced him "a 
Spaniard," and said he should not be redeemed, but must go to the 
mountains and work with him. Every thing that this man said, seem- 
ed to carry with it a weight that bore downfall opposition. 

We had, during Sidi Hamet's absence, (after the fifth day,) been in 
constant expectation of receiving news from him, or that he himself 
would return, and our keepers inquired of every stranger who came 
from the eastward, if they had seen him, but obtained no news until 
the seventh day, when one of the most fierce and ill looking men I 
had ever beheld, approached the wall, and hailed Seid by name, order- 
ing him in an imperious tone to open the gate directly. Seid demand- 
ed to know who he was : he replied, Ullah Omar ; that he came from 
Swearah, and had met Sidi Hamet near that place, who requested him 
to call and tell Seid where he was, and that God had prospered his 
journey so far. The gate was now opened, and the stranger entered 
he was of a dark complexion, nearly six feet in height, and extremely 
muscular; had a long musket in his hand, a pair of horse pistols hang- 
ing in his belt, and a scimitar and tv/o long knives slung by his sides, 
with the haick or blanket for a dress, and a large white turban on his 
head ; he had a pair of long iron spurs, which were fastened to his 
slippers of yellow Morocco leather ; he rode a beautiful horse, which 
seemed fleet and vigorous, and he appeared to be about forty years of 
age. This was the first man 1 had seen harnessed in this way. Sheick 
Ali knew him, and shook him most cordially by the hand, and after 
exchanging salutations all round, hearing 1 was the captain, he ad- 
dressed me and told me he had seen my friend, Sidi Hamet ; that he 
met him within one day's ride of Swearah; that he would no doubt be 
here on the morrow, for that God had prospered his journey on account 
of me; and added, that he hoped my friend in Swearah or Mogdola 
would be as true to me as Sidi Hamet was : he then spoke to all my 
men, who though they did not understand him, yet were rejoiced t« 
hear through me, that there was a prospect of my master's returning 
soon. This man had two powder horns slung from his neck, and ? 
F 



114 CAPTAIN RILEY S NARRATIVE. 

pouch in which he carried a wooden pipe and some tobacco, beaid* a 
plentiful supply of leaden balls and slugs. My shipmates waited 
some tobacco very much, and I asked him for a little, upon which he 
gave me a handful of very good tobacco, and seemed exceedingly 
pleased to have it in his power to administer comfort to such misera- 
ble beings. 1 imagined from his whole deportment that he resembled 
one of those high-spirited, heroic, and generous robbers, thai are so 
admirably described in ancient history. Seid furnished him with some 
food, which I now learned they called cous-Tioo-soo, with some slices 
of pumpion or squash spread over it in the bowl, and well peppered, 
This dish, which is made of small balls of flour, boiled with a fowl and 
vegetables, looked (for 1 had not the pleasure of tasting it) like a very 
nice dish. After they had washed, drank water, eaten, washed again, 
and prayed together, Ullah Omar took his leave. During the whole 
of the time we remained here, our keepers washed themselves all over 
with water twice a day, before mid-day and evening prayers, and 
always washed their hands before and after eating. 

The state of my mind, in the mean time, can be more easily con 
ceived than described : during this day and the next, which was the 
eighth, I longed to know my fate ; and yet I must own, 1 trembled at 
the thoughts of what it might be, and at the conditions 1 had myself 
proposed at my last purchase, and had so often since confirmed. If my 
master should find no one who should be willing to pay the money for 
my redemption, my fate was sealed. I had already agreed to have 
my throat cut ! this could not be prevented ; yet when I made this 
agreement I was naked and on a vast and dreary desart, literally with- 
out a skin ; my remaining flesh was roasted on my body ; not a drop 
of fresh water to quench my burning thirst, nor even an herb nor any 
other thing to satisfy the cravings of hunger : my life was fast wasting 
away, and there was not even a hope remaining, or a possibility ol 
existing long in my then forlorn condition : both myself and my com 
panions would have sold our lives for a drink of fresh water or a 
morsel of bread. In that most dismal and desperate situation, i ima- 
gined that if 1 could once get to the cultivated country beyond the 
desart, I should find some food to support nature, and fresh water to 
allay our thirst. My remarkable dream had also given me courage to 
hope for redemption ; but if 1 was not redeemed myself, 1 felt it my 
duty to exert myself to the utmost to preserve the lives of my ship- 
mates ; they might some of them, I fancied, possibly survive, even 
though 1 should not, and be at length restored to their country and 
friends, in consequence of my exertions, and convey to my distres- 
sed family the sad tidings of my wretched fate. Circumstances were 
now changed ; I had passed the dangers of the desart, and arrived in 
the cultivated country ; we had now plenty of good water, and some 
food and shelter ; and though my flesh was nearly all wasted awav, 
yet a new skin had succeeded and nearly covered my bones. My 
desire to live kept pace with the increase of my comforts ; ] longed 
for the return of my master, and yet I anticipated it with the most 
fearful and dreadful apprehensions. 1 could not sleep ; alternate 
hope and fear kept me in a state of continual agitation. J calculated 
on the moment of his arrival as decisive of my fate ; it would either 
restore me to liberty, or doom me to instant death : I trembled at 
every umnQ occasioned bv the opening of the gate on any new arrival. 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 115 



CHAPTER XX. 

4 Moor arrives from Mogadore, bringing a letter — The letter — They 
set out for that city. 

The eighth day of my master's absence passed tediously away ; 
when, after dark, we heard a trampling outside the walls. Seid went 
forth to learn its cause, and soon returned with Sidi Mohammed, fol- 
V)\ved by a well looking Moor. They came directly to that part of tne 
yard where we were sitting on the ground, trembling with apprehension 
and with cold. When they came near me, the Moor called out and 
said in English, " How de-do, Capetan." This raised me and all my 
men from the ground ; I felt as if my heart was forcing its way up into 
my throat, and it entirely obstructed my breath. 1 eagerly seized his 
hand, and begged to know who he was, and what was my doom, and ii 
Sidi Hamet had come back : he then asked me in Spanish if I spoke 
that language, and being answered in the affirmative, he informed me 
in Spanish that he came from Mogadore ; that my letter had been 
received by one of the best of men, an Englishman, who was his 
friend, and who had shed tears on reading my letter; that he had paid 
the money to my master immediately, and had sent him (the Moor) 
off, without giving him scarcely a moment's time to take leave of his 
wife, and that he had been on his mule ever since he left Swearah, 
travelling on as fast as possible, night and day. The anxiety of my 
companions by this time had risen to such a pitch that they broke in 
upon his story, on which I communicated to them the thrice welcome 
and happy intelligence, that we had a friend who would redeem us from 
slavery. Our souls were overwhelmed with joy, and yet we trembled 
with apprehension lest it might not be true : alas ! perhaps it was only 
a delusive dream, or some cruel trick to turn our miseries into mock- 
ery. At this moment, however, the Moor handed me a letter : 1 broke 
it open ; but my emotions were such, that it was impossible for me to 
read its contents, and I handed it to Mr. Savage; for my frame trem- 
bled to such a degree, that I could not stand, and I sank to the earth, 
but, thank God, not senseless ; while by means of the light of a fire, 
he lead as follows : — 

Mogadore, October 25, 1815. 

BIT DEAR AND AFFLICTED SIR, 

1 have this moment received your two notes by Sidi Hamet, the 
contents of which, 1 hope you will be perfectly assured, have called 
forth my most sincere pity tor your sufferings, and those of your com- 
panions in captivity. 

By a Gibraltar paper 1 discover, under the arrivals from the 5th to 
the 11th August, the name of your vessel, and that she was American, 
from which 1 conclude both you and your crew must be subjects of 
the United States : had it not been for the paper adverted to, some 
delay would have occurred, as you do not state in your notes to what 
nation you belong. 

I congratulate you most sincerely, on the good fortune you and youi 



116 CAPTAIN RILEY 1 S NARRATIVE. 

fellow sufferers have met, by being in the hands of a man who seems 
to be guided by some degree ofcommisseration. 

I can in some measure participate in the severe and dangerous suf- 
ferings and hardships you must have undergone; but, my dear sir, 
console yourself, for, thanks be to God, 1 hope they will soon have a 
happy issue ; for which purpose I devoutly pray the great Disposer of 
all things will give you and your unfortunate companions health and 
strength once more to visit your native land. 

This letter will be delivered you by Rais bel Cossim, in whom you 
may place the fullest faith : he speaks Spanish, and has directions to 
pay attention to your orders, and render you every care your severe 
misfortunes may require. Be pleased to write me an immediate an- 
swer, slating every particular relating to yourself, your crew, and 
vessel, as 1 have given orders to the Moor to forward it to me without 
delay. 

I have agreed to pay the sum of nine hundred and twenty hard 
dollars to Sidi ilamet, on your safe arrival in this town with your 
fellow sufferers: he remains here as a kind of hostage for your safe 
appearance. 

J have been induced to trust implicitly to your word, and the 
respectable references you have given, in confidence that those gen- 
tlemen, or yourself, will readily reimburse me the whole of the expenses 
that may be incurred in obtaining your redemption. 

I have the most sincere pleasure to acquaint you, you will be at 
liberty to commence your journey for this town on the receipt of this 
letter, and make what stages you please on the road, as I do not advise 
you, in the eagerness all of you must feel, to run into danger by over 
exertion and fatigue : I would, therefore, recommend the greatest pre- 
caution on this point. I have sent under charge of Rais bel Cossim, 
shoes and cloaks, which I have no doubt you will find very useful in 
preserving you from rain or cold on the road. I have also forwarded 
you some provisions and spirits, that you may enjoy a foretaste of re- 
turning liberty. 

I beg to recommend the greatest secrecy of your circumstances 
until your arrival here, for should the Moors suppose you able to pay 
more, they would throw difficulties in the way, and thereby much re- 
tard your redemption. 

I shall send off an express to-morrow to the United States' Con- 
sul General at Tangier, and a letter to Mr. Horatio Sprague of Gibral- 
tar, informing them of your loss, and of the favourable hopes I en- 
tertain of your immediate release. 

I have appointed with Rais bel Cossim, on your arrival at a short 
distance from Mogadore, to wait at the garden of a friend of mine, 
and send me notice of the same, when I shall immediately set out to 
meet you. 

1 trust there is no occasion for me to say how truly 1 commisserate 
and enter into all your misfortunes : when God grants me the pleasure 
to embrace you, it Avill be to me a day of true rejoicing. 1 beg you 
will assure every one with you of my truest regard; and with senti- 
ments embittered by the thoughts of the miseries you have undergone, 
but with the must sanguine hope of a happy end to all your sufferings 
I subsonic myself, with the greitest esteem, my dear sir, your friend, 

William Willshire. 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 117 

P. S. 1 willingly agree to advance the money, considering a month 
or more must elapse before I could receive an answer from Mr. 
Sprague. I therefore concluded you would prefer being at liberty in 
this town, to experiencing a prolongation of your sufferings during 
that period. I shall be happy in rendering you every comfort that my 
house and this country can afford. W. W. 

My feelings, during the reading of this letter, may perhaps be con- 
ceived, but f cannot attempt to describe them; to form an idea of my 
emotions at that time, it is necessary for the reader to transport him- 
self in imagination to the country where I then was, a wretched slave, 
and to fancy himself as having passed through all the dangers and 
distresses that I had experienced : reduced to the lowest pitch of 
human wretcncdness, degradation, and despair, a skinless skeleton, 
expecting death at every instant : then let him fancy himself receiving 
such a letter from a perfect stranger, whose name he had never before 
heard, and from a place where there was not an individual creature 
that had ever before heard of his existence, and in one of the most 
barbarous regions of the habitable globe : let him receive at the same 
time clothes to cover and defend his naked, emaciated, and trembling 
frame, shoes for his mangled feet, and such provisions as he had been 
accustomed to in his happier days — let him find a soothing and 
sympathising friend in a barbarian, and one who spoke perfectly well 
the language of a Christian nation ; and with all this, let him behold 
a prospect of a speedy liberation and restoration to his beloved, family : 
— here let him pause, and his heart must, like mine, expand near to 
bursting with gratitude to his all-wise and beneficent Creator, who 
had upheld his tottering frame and preserved in his bosom the vital 
spark, while he conducted him, with unerring wisdom and goodness, 
through the greatest perils and sufferings, by a continued miracle, and 
now prepared the heart of a stranger to accomplish what had been 
before determined. 

The letter being finished, we could only raise our eyes and hearts 
to heaven in adoration and silent thankfulness, while tears of jcy 
trickled down our haggard cheeks. — Amidst these joyful and heart- 
thrilling sensations, my attention was aroused by the thundering voice 
of Shriek" All, who stormed away most furiously on being informed 
that Sidi Hamet had given up me and my companions for such a pal- 
try sum : — he said, Sidi Hamet must be a fool and a madman to put 
himself in the power of a villainous Christian, who would undoubtedly 
murder him and take back his money so soon as v» should arrive in 
Swoarah. The Moor, who had hitherto remained silent, now spoke 
out in a very spirited manner, and told the Sheick in a very firm, but 
eloquent and persuasive tone, that he. had bought me and my com- 

E anions with his own money, which he had paid to Sidi Hamet before 
n left Swearah ; and that he (Sidi Hamet) remained there voluntarily 
as a hostage for his (Rais bel Cossim's) safety, as well as security for 
the delivery of the slaves. 

"We are of the same religion, (added Rais,) and owe these Chris- 
tian dogs nothing ; we have an undoubted right to make merchandise 
of them, and oblige them to carry our burdens like camels. That 
fellow (said he, pointing to me) calls himself the captain of a vessel. 



118 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

—he has deceived his master and you ; for he was nothing more than 
a cook on board, and the captain has Ions; been dead." This the 
Sheick would not believe; if it was so, how could 1 write a note to 
induce a stranger to pay so much money for me and my men? "It 
was only a short one, (added he,) and its writer must be a man of 
much consequence, as well as knowledge. I fear you (though a 
Moslemin) have leagued with a Christian "against Sidi Hamet, first to 
rob him of his slaves, and then to take his life." "No, by Allah! I 
am ine?pable of such an act of treachery," retorted Rais, and told 
the Sheick I was indeed the cook, but being a stout fellow, had been 
able to endure fatigues better than the others : " but (added he) give 
them paper, pen, and ink, and they will soon convince you they can 
all write, and much better than Riley." This controversy continued 
a long time, and I found that Rais bel Cossim was a man of great 
courage, as well as knowledge and eloquence ; and he certainly dis- 
played great address and management in checking the avaricious cal- 
culations of the Sheick, by insisting on my not being a captain, and 
thus depreciating my value as a slave. Seid seemed to have sunken 
into a kind of sullen silence: it was now late, and Sidi Mohammed 
conducted the whole company into an apartment that had served, from 
appearances, as a stable for mules. They had loudly insisted that we 
should lodge in the same place where we had been before confined, 
but Rais would not consent, and declared that his slaves should stay 
by his side, both night and day/ They had cost him a great deal of 
money, (he said,) and he was determined not to lose them. Having 
thus got into comfortable quarters, our cloaks were produced from a 
basket, and we put them on. Our friend had sent us some hard bis- 
cuits and boiled neats*' tongues — he had also forwarded tea, coffee, 
and sugar, and a few botties of rum, with a tea-kettle, tea-pot, cups 
and saucers, all nicely packed up in a small box. Rais then procu- 
red a lighted lamp, and 1 gave each of my men a slice of tongue, 
some biscuit, and a drink of rum : this revived their spirits exceed- 
ingly, and we all felt as if new life was infused into our hearts, which 
at the same time swelled with gratitude to God for his infinite mercy 
and goodness. We were next regaled with a very fine watermelon; 
and having put on our ne^ shoes to make our feet warm, and wrapped 
ourselves up in large cloaks or gzlabbias, we stretched ourselves on 
the ground to sleep, whilst Rais, Seid, and his companion, Bo-Mo- 
hammed, and Sheick Ali, laid themselves down on a platform made 
of boards that must have been brought from the wreck of some vessel, 
and was raised two feet from the ground. The food which 1 and my 
companions had eaten, together with the melon and liquor, caused us 
such violent griping pai is in our stomachs and intestines, that we 
could with great difficulty forbear screaming out with agony, and we 
found no relief till mornmg, after having passed a sleepless night. 

Early in the morning, Rais desired me, in Arabic, to make some 
tea: so 1 took out the kettle, had it filled with water, made a fire 
with a few sticks, and socn had the tea ready for drinking. The men 
and boys in and near this village, hearing of Sidi Mohammed's return 
to his family, came now to congratulate him, and to see the Moor, 
who directed me to pour out a cup of tea for each of the men, which 
he made thick with sugai. None of the people had ever before seen 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 1 19 

guch a thing as a tea-cup, nor knew what the taste of tea was, and it 
was with difficulty that several of them could be persuaded to drink it, 
and they appeared to be reconciled to it only on account of the sugar- 
I waited on them all until they had finished; when Rais, turning to 
Sheick Ali, said, "1 told you before that Riley was the cook, and now 
you see with your own eyes that he is the only one that can wait upon 
us. ' I next made a strong cup of tea for ourselves, which had a most re- 
markable effect in composing and restoring the tone of our stomachs. 

All our things being soon packed up and loaded on mules, we set 
forward at about eight o'clock. The Moor had tried to procure mules 
for us to ride on ; but they could not be had in this part of the country 
at any price. Our company consisted of Sheick Ali, Sidi Moham- 
med, (who had been to Swearah on our account,) Seid, our master, 
Bo-Mohammed, (who had assisted in guarding us,) and Rais bel Cos- 
sim, all well armed. Though he could procure no beasts exclusively 
for our use, ye Rais managed in such a manner as to let us ride by 
turns, and Burns all the time, for he was so feeble as not to be able 
to walk. So soon as we were on the road, Rais bel Cossim begged 
me to give him an account of my misfortunes and sufferings, and by 
what miracle my life and the lives of those who were with me had 
been preserved. I satisfied his curiosity as well as 1 could, by a short 
narration of the most prominent occurrences. When I had finished, 
he raised his eyes towards heaven with an air and expression of true 
devotion, and exclaimed, in Spanish, " Praised be God, the most 
high and holy ! for his goodness :" then addressing himself to me, he 
remarked, " You have indeed been preserved most wonderfully by the 
peculiar protection and assistance of an overruling Providence, and 
must be a particular favourite of heaven : there never was an instance 
(added he) of a Christian's passing the great desart for such a dis- 
tance before, and you are no doubt destined to do some great good in 
the world ; and may the Almighty continue to preserve you, and 
restore you to your distressed family. Sidi Hamet (added he) 
admired your conduct, courage, and intelligence, and says they are 
more than human — that God is with you in all your transactions, and 
has blessed him for your sake." 1 mention this conversation to show 
the light in which my master had viewed me ; and this will account 
for the interest he took in my restoration to liberty, over and above his 
motives of gain. 

I now inquired who Sheick Ali was, and why he was going on in 
company ; and said, I much feared him. Rais informed me that all 
he knew about him he had learned from Sidi Mohammed, which was, 
that he is the chief of a very large and powerful tribe of Arabs, who 
inhabit the hills south of us, and near the borders of the great desart; 
that Sidi Hamet had married one of his daughters, but had since been 
at war with him, and that in the contest his father-in-law had destroy- 
ed Sidi Harriet's town, and taken back his daughter, but afterwards 
restored her again on making peace; that this Sheick could bring ten 
or fifteen thousand men into the field whenever he pleased, and that he 
was a man of the greatest talents and capacity in war, as well as in 
peace; but why he was going on in our company in this manner, he 
he could not tell, and agreed with me in suspecting that it could be 
for no good purpose; yet he observed, "God could turn his evil 



120 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

jnteniions to our good, and that that power which had protected me 
Urns far, would not forsake me until his will was accomplished." 



CHAPTER XXI. 

They come near the ruins of a city, where two battering machines art 
standing — Description of them — Story of its destruction — They cross 
a river and a fruitful valley — Lodge in a city, and are afterwards 
stopped by Sheick Ali and the prince of another city. 

We travelled on in a southeast direction through a very SEindy coun 
try, with, however, here and there a small rising, and a few cultivated 
spots, for about five hours, at the rate of five miles an horn, when wf 
came opposite the shattered walls of a desolate town or city that stood 
not far from our path on the right. These walls appeared to inclose 
a square spot of about three hundred yards in extent on each side, and 
they seemed to be at least fifteen feet in height. They wtre built ol 
rough stones, laid in clay or mud, and partly daubed over with the 
same material. On the north side there was a gateway handsomely 
arched over with stone, and furnished with a strong heavy looking 
wooden gate that was now shut. Over the gate there appeared to be 
a platform for the purpose of defending the gate, for the wall was not 
quite so high in that part as elsewhere. Two battering machines were 
standing against the western angle of the wall, opposite to which a 
large practicable breach had been made by means of one of those 
machines. They were both very simple in their structure, but calcu- 
lated to be very powerful in their effects. I could distinctly see and 
examine with my eyes the one nearest to us. It was formed, as it 
appeared to me, in the first place, by laying down two large logs of 
wood at right angles with the wall, and about fifteen feet apart, the 
ends of the logs butting against the wall. (See plate, figure 4.) Into 
the upper side of each of these logs a nitch or mortise was cut, to 
receive the thick ends of two uprights, consisting of two rough trunks 
of trees, of about twelve inches in diameter at their base, of equal 
lengths, and rising to the height of about twenty-five or thirty feet. 
Each upright had a crotch in its upper end, formed by the natural 
branching of the two principal limbs of the tree, like a common coun- 
try well-post in America. These crotches being rounded out by art, 
a stout piece of knotty timber, of about from twelve to eighteen inches 
in thickness, was placed horizontally in them. To the centre of the 
cross-piece, a pole often or twelve inches in circumference was lashed 
with a strong rope, and to the lower end of this pole a huge rough 
rock was fastened, weighing from appearances several tons. The 
rock was slung and fastened to the pole by means of thick ropes, 
formed by braiding many thongs of camels' skins together. After the 
machine had been fitted together on the ground, it had ?^een raised 
all in a body by the help of long shores or sticks of timber, not so 
thick as the uprights, but nearly twice as long; these shores were tied 
fast to the uprights, near their crotches, by ropes, and served to raisa 
and lower the machine at pleasure, ajid also acted as braces to support 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 121 

it when in action. Two short props or braces were fixed between the 
uprights and the wall, with one end resting against its base, and the 
other in a notch cut on the inner side of the uprights, to help to keep 
them steady, and to prevent them from falling against the walls. The 
rock hung within two or three feet of the ground, like a huge pendu- 
lum; and having a long rope fastened to its slings, stretching oft from 
the wall at least one hundred and fifty feet. The manner of applying 
it, was by the assailants laying hold of this rope in great numbers, ana 
then hauling off the rock to its greatest extent ; all let go at the same 
instant, and the rock swung back with such impetuosity against those 
ill constructed walls, that its repeated strokes soon opened a breach, 
through which the besiegers entered, sword in hand. The other ma- 
chine was made of four rough sticks of timber, of nearly equal lengths, 
lashed together at their smallest ends, and raised in form of a common 
triangle, or rather a quadrangle; from the point of juncture, a large 
rock was suspended by a rope of camel's skin, braided to the thickness 
of a man's leg, and slung in such a manner as to be struck against the 
wall in the same way as the one first described. My companion, 
Rais bel Cossim, gave me all the information 1 desired, relative to these 
machines. The ground about the breach and near the gate was 
strewed over with dry human bones; and my curiosity being much 
excited to know the history of this melancholy scene of carnage and 
desolation, 1 requested Rais to communicate to me the particulars; 
but not being, it seems, acquainted with them himself, he applied to 
Sidi Mohammed on the subject, who thereupon gave the following 
relation, while Rais translated into Spanish for me such parts as I did 
not perfectly understand in Arabic, by which means 1 was enabled 
thoroughly to comprehend the whole narrative. 

"That city (said Sidi Mohammed, pointing towards it with his 
staff) was built by Omar Raschid, about forty years ago ; jhe named it 
Widnah. He was a very brave and pious man ; and the number of 
his family and friends, consisting at first of no more than five hundred 
souls, when the city was built, increased so rapidly, that in a few years 
they amounted to several thousands : they planted those fig, date, 
pomegranate, olive, and other trees which you now see near the walls; 
they cultivated the fields round about, and made gardens ; had abun- 
dance of bread, beasts, and cattle of every kind, and became exceed- 
ingly rich and great, for God was with them in all their transactions. 
They were respected, loved, and feared by all their neighbours, 
because they were wise and just. This man was called Omar el Mil- 
licth, (or Omar the good ;) he was my best friend when living, (said 
Sidi,) and helped me when 1 was very low in the world ; but the best 
men have enemies — so it was with Omar ; he had an inveterate enemy 
from his youth, who lived among the mountains to the southward of 
his city, whose name was Sheick Sulmin. This Sheick, about twenty 
years ago, came down with a great host and invested the city of Omar ; 
but Omar, taking advantage of the darkness of the night, sallied out 
of his city at a private passage, with all his forces, and falling upon 
his besiegers unawares, killed a great number, and put the remainder 
to a shameful flight: from that time until the time of his death, 
(which happened two years ago,) he enjoyed a profound peace on 
every side. After Omar's death, 4»is eldest son, Muley Ismael, (for 
F2 



122 

ne caused himself to be called a prince,) took upon him the govern- 
ment of the city. He was a very effeminate man, entirely devoted to 
sensual pleasure, and had a great number of wives and concubines. 
The people had long enjoyed a profound peace, and confided in thei;r 
strength; when, about a year ago, one of the brothers of Ismae 
named Kesh-bah, who was very ambitious, and being fired with resent 
ment at the conduct of JVIuley Ismael, in taking away from him his 
betrothed wife, left the city and repaired to the mountains, where 
having found his father's old enemy still living, he stirred him up to 
war against the city. The old Sheick soon collected a powerful 
army of hungry and rapacious Arabs on the borders of the desart, and 
came down the mountains, bringing on their camels the battering 
machines you now see standing there. When this host approached 
the city, it was in the dead of the night, and all within were asleep, 
for they dwelt carelessly and dreamed of no danger, and felt so secure, 
that they did not even keep a watch. The Sheick and his host drew 
near the walls in perfect silence, and raised their battering machines 
undiscovered : it was now nearly daylight, when both machines were 
put in operation at the same instant, and the gate was also attacked 
by means of large stones hung from the upper extremities of long 
poles by ropes, which poles stood up on end, and were managed by 
the hands of the Arabs. The first strokes against the walls and gate, 
shook them to their very foundations, and awakened the slothful in- 
habitants, who flew to the walls in order to make a defence ; but it 
was too late ; the enemy were thundering against them ; all was con- 
fusion within ; those who attacked the gate were repulsed with great 
slaughter by those who mounted the platform over it, but the walls 
were already shattered to pieces, and the assailants entered the 
bleaches over heaps of their dead and dying enemies. 

" It was now daylight, and an indiscriminate slaughter of the inhabi- 
tants ensued; all was blood and carnage; every male was put to death, 
except two, who escaped over the wall to carry tidings of the fate of 
the town to their friends and neighbours. All the women and chil- 
dren shared the same fate, except two hundred virgins, who were 
spared for the use of the conquerors. They next plundered the slain 
of their clothing and ornaments; gathered up all the spoil, and drove 
off the oxen, sheep, camels, and asses, and departed, leaving the city 
before mid-day a heap of ruins, covered with the mangled carcasses 
of us once highly favoured inhabitants : they were in such haste as 
to leave the battering machines standing, and made off by way of the 
plain southward. The inhabitants of the neighbouring towns soon 
collected, and pursuing them with great vigour, came up with them 
on the side of the mountain the next morning, while the invaders 
sending forward their spoil, took a station in a steep narrow pass, and 
prepared for battle. It was a very long and bloody fight, but Sulmin's 
men rolled down great stones from the prec ; pices upon their pur- 
suers, who were at last forced to retreat, leaving about half their num- 
ber dead and wounded on the ground.'* 

Sidi Mohammed was one of the pursuers, and now showed me a 
very large scar from a wound he then received on his breast by a 
musket ball. Sidi Ishem, a very powerful prince, had in the mean 
time heard the news, and assembl|d a very large army, and pursued 



BUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 123 

4ie enemy by another way ; but they had fled to the desart and could 
oot be overtaken. The dead bodies in and about the city had become 
50 putrid before the pursuit was over, that none could approach to 
bury them, and they were devoured by dogs, and wild beasts, and 
birds of prey. "They had offended the Almighty by their pride, 
(observed Sidi Mohammed,) and none could be found to save them. 
Thus perished Widnah and its haughty inhabitants." 

1 was at that time riding along on a mule next to Rais bel Cossim 
and Sidi Mohammed, whilst the latter recounted the transaction in u 
most solemn tone. My sensations at beholding the desolate ruins of 
a once populous town, whose inhabitants had all been cut off in a few 
hours by the unexpected irruption of a ferocious and unsparing foe, 
may easily be conceived. I was at first induced to consider the story 
as fictitious, but my eyes warranted the belief of it, and the sight of 
the battering machines, together with the breaches in the wall, and 
the dry human bones scattered around, afforded conclusive evidence 
even to the minds of my fellow prisoners, who did not understand the 
narrative, that here had once stood a town, which had been sacked 
and destroyed. 

After leaving these ruins, we continued on about an east course for 
three hours, when we came to the bank of a stream, or fresh water 
river, which was now no larger than a brook, owing to the dryness of 
the season. It flowed from the southeast, and bent its course through 
a broad valley in a crooked channel, nearly north, towards the seashore. 
On its left bank, which was very high land, stood two considerable 
walled villages, and a great number of small square-walled enclosures 
on the same bank southward, some in ruins and some apparently in 
good repair. The walls were made of rough stones laid in clay, and 
the houses had flat' roofs. On the margin of the brook were a great 
number of gardens fenced in with dry thorn bushes, placed on the 
ground, and planted chiefly with the prickly-pear ; but some with 
squashes, cabbages, &c. At a distance on both sides of this stream, 
we saw a number of square stone sanctuaries, or saint houses, with 
round domes : they did not appear to be more than ten or fifteen feet 
square, and were all nicely whitewashed. This bank of the river bore 
strong marks of having been washed to a very great height from the 
place where the stream then flowed ; and on inquiring of Sidi Mo- 
hammed, I was informed that the whole of the valley between the two 
high banks (which from appearance must be five or six miles wide) 
was entirely covered with water during some part of the season, or 
when great rains fall ; at which times travellers were obliged to go up 
the banks three days' journey to a fall, before they could cross it : that 
he nimself had once been that way, but for the last five years the land 
had been so cursed with droughts, that it had not once overflowed its 
present bed where we crossed it, and where it was not more than twenty 
yards wide and one foot in depth. 

As we passed along close to the prickly-pears, which hung over the 
thorn bushes, bearing yellow fruit, some of my men plucked them and 
put them in their mouths, without regarding the sharp prickles with 
which these pears were covered, so that their tongues and the roofs cf 
their mouths were literally filled with them : on the first touch, th?y 
were extremely painful, and were extracted afterwards with much dii- 



124 

ficulty. There we-e also on both sides of this river near where we 
crossed it, numerous herds, and many inhabitants. We travelled along 
the right bank of the river for several miles, until it became both wide 
and deep, for it met the tide water from the sea ; when coming within 
sight of a city on the high right bank, we made towards it. On our 
approaching within two miles of its walls, we passed large fields of 
Indian corn and barley, and gardens filled with most kinds of common 
vegetables. The borders of these fields and gardens were planted 
with date, fig, pomegranate, orange, and other fruit trees in grea* 
numbers, and many clumps of grape vines : the soil of this spot 
appeared to be of the richest black mould. As we passed along in a 
high foot-way, formed by throwing up the turf from the enclosures, 
(apparently to make them perfectly level, or all of a gentle descent,) 
we saw hundreds of the inhabitants busily employed in gathering the 
Indian corn and barley into heaps, for it was now their harvest time, 
while others (men and boys) were loading it in sacks and baskets on 
camels, mules, and asses, and driving them, thus loaded with the rich 
products of the soil, into their city. These several enclosures contain- 
ed, I should judge, one hundred acres of land, divided from each other 
by mud walls, strewed with dry thorn bushes ; the whole were water- 
ed by means of a considerable stream, brought from the heights near 
the city in a large ditch, and carried round each enclosure in small 
gutters dug for the purpose ; so that any one of the owners could 
either water the whole or any part of his field or garden, at pleasure. 
Hundreds of oxen and cows, sheep and goats, were feeding in the 
newly cleared fields, whose thin and famished appearance proved they 
had been forced to feed on scanty and dried up herbage during the 
summermonths, and that on account of the long and excessive droughts, 
they had merely been able to exist. Rais also informed me, that the 
locusts had nipped off and destroyed nearly every verdant thing in the 
whole country ; and that for the last five years they had laid waste 
whole provinces in the empire of Morocco. 

We now arrived at the city, and entered it at a very large gateway, 
with our camels and mules, and took up our quarters in a smith's shop, 
near the gate. It was after sunset when we entered this town, and I 
could observe one broad street that appeared to run its whole length. 
The houses were built of rough stones, principally laid in clay, but 
some in lime — all of one story high, and flat roofed : there were no 
windows next the street, except a small aperture in each one not a foot 
square, for the purpose probably of admitting light. They had each 
a stout plank door strongly made, and furnished with a big clumsy 
iron Jock. The corn continued to pass into the city till dark ; all the 
camels, oxen, cows, sheep, goats, and asses, belonging to the inhabi- 
tants, and which were very numerous, were also driven into the city, 
and the gate shut and barred with four large pieces of timber : this 
was about eight o'clock, and a watch was then stationed on the wall. 
On entering the city, Rais bel Cossim and Sheick Ali waited on the 
governor or chief, and obtained permission to remain in his town over 
night ; and a few dates were brought by Rais for our suppers. The 
shop in which we were permitted to stay was about twenty feet square; 
a kind of forge was fixed in one corner ; two skins were curiously ap 
plie4, so as to form a bellows to blow this fire with, which was of char- 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 126 

coal ; a man stood between them with a hand on each skin, which he 
raised and depressed alternately, and thus kept up a small and irregu- 
lai stream of air. They had a large piece of iron for an anvil, which 
lay so low on the ground, that when they worked on it with the ham- 
mer, which was a very clumsy sort of one, they were obliged to squat 
down. I believe every man and boy in this town came to look at 
us by turns, and ask questions concerning ourselves, our country, &c. 
so that we were surrounded with people during the whole night, chat- 
ting with each other, and asking our Arab guides an endless string of 
questions- 

These people were of the same nation we had been in the habit of 
seeing sin3e we came to the river Nun, yet they appeared to be more 
civilized. Several of them asked me in Spanish how I did, and uttered 
many other words in that language, the meaning of which they did 
not seem to understand, the most of them being vile oaths and exe- 
crations ; which proved satifactorily to me that they had frequent com- 
munications in some way or other with people of that nation. Sheick 
Ali had all the day after we left Sidi Mohammed's house been lost in a 
seeming reverie : he would seldom speak, and when he did, it was in 
a low voice apart with Seid, and 1 strongly suspected that some plot 
was in preparation between them. We had travelled the last day 
about five hours, at the rate of four miles an hour, before we came 
abreast of the ruins of the city 1 have described, and we had pro- 
ceeded five hours afterwards at the same rate, making together forty 
miles. 

On the 30th of October, we made ready to start before daylight, 
and as soon as it dawned the gate was opened, and we proceeded on 
our journey. The walls of this city or town, were built of rough stone 
laid in clay, and were four feet thick at their base in the gateway, and 
about twenty feet high, but had no outer ditch to defend them, nor any 
cannon mounted. It appeared to cover a space of about three hun- 
dred yards in length along the river's bank, north and south, and one 
hundred and fifty yards in breadth from east to west. The channel of 
the river at low stages of the water is about one mile west of the town : 
this river is called by the natives Woed Sehlem, or river Sehlem. and 
the town, Rais told me, bore the name, i. e. Sehlemah : it is, 1 should 

i'udge from its appearance, fifty yards in width opposite the town at 
ligh wat"«-, and proportionably deep. I was now informed by Rais 
bel Cossim and Sidi Mohammed, that there was once a large and 
flourishing Christian town and settlement near the mouth of this river, 
Hud only thirty milts from us ; that the town was taken by storm about 
eight centuries ago, and all the Christians massacred. An Arabian 
century contains forty lunar years, and is called Zille, and they 
reckon twelve moons to the year. Both Rais bel Cossim and Sidi 
Mohammed said they had been to the spot, and seen some of the 
remains of the walls, which were still standing, though nearly all buried 
up in sand drifted from the seashore. They further stated, thai there 
was now a village at a little distance from the ancient ruin, inhabited 
by fishermen ; that the old Christian town was "ituated on a bay or 
arm of the sea, and five or six miles broad at its entrance, and that it 
is an excellent harbour both for large and small vessels ; that there was 
no bar across its mouth, but that the usual bar was formed of sand a 









126 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

few miles below the town we had left. From my own observations on 
the increasing breadth of the river, I am inclined to think that this bay 
may contain a fine harbour, particularly as Rais and his companion 
could have no motive for deceiving me. Rais bel Cossim had been 
many times in Europe, as captain under the Moorish flag, in the grain 
trade, and insisted that this was a better harbour than Cadiz : if so, it 
is the only one on that coast, from Cape Spartel, in latitude 34. 30. to 
the latitude of 19. north. 

Travelling on at a great rate, we entered on a vast plain, over whose 
surface a few shrubs, and weeds, and clumps of trees were thinly 
scattered: the boughs of these trees were bending under the weight of 
a bright yellow fruit, and I learned from Rais that it was the arga tree, 
from the nut of which is extracted the argan oil, very much esteemed 
by the natives ; and it was also highly relished by my companions. 
This nut, when ripe, much resembles the ripe date in appearance ; so 
much so, indeed, that seeing some of them scattered on the ground, 
I took one up and bit it, when I found out my mistake, as its bark 
was extremely bitter. The trees generally grew in clusters of from 
three to ten trunks, that seemed to spring from the same seed ; these 
rise in a shaft of from ten to fifteen feet in height, and then branch off 
in all directions, forming a diameter of at least one hundred feet; the 
trunks are from one to three feet in diameter ; the branches are covered 
with thorns, which fall and lie so thick on the ground, as to make it 
almost impossible to approach them near enough to shake or knock 
off the nuts, and they are consequently left to ripen and drop off 
spontaneously. 

We were now going on at a small trot, mostly all mounted on the 
camels, mules, and two asses that were in company. The Atlas moun- 
tains were now full in view, stretching as far as the eye could reach 
from northeast to southwest, at some distance on our right. We had 
seen these mountains for several days past, in the distant horizon, 
when we were on the high ridges, which we were obliged to pass ; 
but we now beheld them from this wide spreading plain in all their 
awful magnitude : their lofty summits, towering high above the clouds 
in sharp peaks, appeared to be covered with never melting snows. 
This sight was calculated to fill the mind of the beholder with won- 
der and astonishment. The cold and chilling blasts of wind which 
blew directly from the Atlas, almost congealed our impoverished blood, 
and made our feeble frames shake almost to dissolution, notwithstand- 
ing the good cloaks and shoes with which we were provided. Seid 
and the other Arabs were also shivering with co,ld, and ran on foot to 
make themselves warm, for the sky was overcast and obscured by thick 
and heavy clouds, portending torrents of rain. 1 was now sure we 
were very near the emperor of Morocco's dominions, and began to 
imagine myself a free man — I felt myself at peace with all mankind; 
my mind expanded with gratitude towards the great Author of my 
being, and I viewed this stupendous ridge of mountains as one of the 
strongest proofs of Divine goodness to his creatures; fori considered 
that all the rivers, a->d streams, and springs, that water and refresh the 
northern part of Africa, from the borders of that immense and thirsty 
desart over which I had travelled, to the straits of Gibraltar, and 
which empty into the Atlantic ocean, or into the Mediterranean sea. 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 12? 

westward of Tripoli, and from the 26th to the 3oth degree of north 
latitude, must either take their rise or have their sources in this vast 
chain of Atlas. On these burning coasts, seldom refreshed by rains, 
(and that oniy in small quantities, and during the winter season,) the 
great bodies of accumulated snow on these mountains, tend in the 
summer season to cool the atmosphere in their vicinity, as well as to 
supply water for the use of the animal and vegetable creation. 

In the course of this morning, Thomas Burns became so weak 
(being benumbed with cold) that he could no longer hold on the camel, 
and tumbled off over the beast's tail with great violence, falling on his 
head and back, which deprived him for a considerable time of all sen- 
sation : with much exertion, however, on our part, he at length revived, 
and was again placed on his camel. Proceeding on the plain, we saw 
a large number 1 of cities, or walled towns, 1 should reckon at least 
fifty, some on one side of our path, and some on tiie other; but mostly 
on our right, and extending as far as the eye could reach towards the 
mountains. Those near the path appeared to be three or four hundred 
yards square : the walls were built of rough stones laid in clay, and 
with only one gate ; they were from twenty to thirty feet in height, 
and crowned with short turrets about three yards apart all around ; at 
each corner ^n the top was built a kind of circular sentry box, also of 
stone, something in the manner of all European castles. Most of the 
land, at some distance from the vicinity of these towns, was prepared 
for sowing, and many of the inhabitants were engaged m ploughing. 
A little nearer, were numerous orchards of fig, date, and other fruit 
trees ; and close to the walls, many gardens of fine vegetables, such as 
onions, cabbages, turnips, squashes, &c. Round about these gardens, 
we saw many dung-hill fowls, and at a distance, herds of neat cattle, 
asses, and flocks of sheep and goats, were feeding upon the scanty 
and dried up herbage, under the eye of their respective keepers or 
herdsmen. These beasts were very poor, yet the whole seemed to 
promise abundance of food to the apparently industrious inhabitants, 
and brought to my mind the ancient Jewish history. 

Sheick Ali had been very attentive to me all this morning : he had 
in imitation of Rais bel Cossim, called me captain, and endeavoured 
to convince me that I had better go with him to the mountains south- 
ward, where he had large possessions, and would give me one of his 
daughters for a wife, and make me a chief in his nanon. He had 
stopped the whole company two or three times to talk over his own 
affairs, and I now supposed that Seid was leagued with hira, and bent 
on doing me and my men some mischief. \Ve had travelled on thus 
for teh hours, (say from four in the morning till two in the afternoon,) 
at the rate of five miles an hour, making a distance of fifty miles, when 
turning aside from our path, as if by choice, we approached the gate 
of a city. We were both hungry and thirsty, and we seated ourselves 
down by a very deep well, within one hundred yards of the city gate : 
Seid and Sheick Ali went immediately into the town, as I supposed, 
to get some p.ovisions — Sidi Mohammed and Rais bel Cossim were 
soon invitefl in also, to partake with them, leaving us on the outside, 
and under charge of Bo-Mohammed, who stood in Sidi Hamet's stead, 
and two others. A great many men, and I believe all the boys belong 
ing to the place, now came out to look at and make remarks on the 



128 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

slaves ; most of them, no doubt, from mere curiosity. The Doys, by 
way of amusement, began to throw stones and dirt at, and to spit on 
us, expressing, by that means, their utter contempt and abhorrence of 
us and of our nation. Burns and Clark were so far exhausted as to 
be unable to support themselves sitting, and were obliged to lie down 
on the ground ; but one man brought a bucket from the town, and 
drew water, that we might allay our thirst ; this revived us in some 
measure. Mr. Savage, Horace, and myself, were in so weak a state, 
that I much feared we should not be able to keep on for the remainder 
of this day. Burns' fall had proved him to be too weak to hold on 
the camel, and had besides bruised him very much. 1 tried my utmost 
to encourage them and keep up their spirits, by representing to them 
that we were now free, and would soon be in the emperor's dominions, 
where 1 presumed we should be out of the reach of the rapacious 
Arabs ; for I had been informed by Rais bel Cossim, that in the 
space of one day's journey we should be within the territories of the 
emperor. 

Whilst Rais bel Cossim and the rest of his company remained within 
the walls, the winds from the mountains, driving before them thick 
masses of dark clouds, loaded with vapour, brougnt on a copious dis- 
charge of rain, and we were directed to enter under the gateway for 
shelter, which we did, supporting each other in our weakness, and 
seated ourselves in the gate. This was the first rain I had witnessed 
in this country ; and it continued to fall for about an hour. 1 had for 
a long time looked for Rais bel Cossim and his companions to come 
out, and began to apprehend some disaster or treachery on the part of 
Sheich Ali, whose harsh and loud voice I now heard roaring within. 
This tremendous clamour between the Sheick and other persons, con- 
tinued for about two hours, when Rais bel Cossim made his appear- 
ance, escorted by a number of men : his intelligent countenance 
bespoke fear, grief, and indignation — he called me aside from my com- 
panions, and told me that Sheick Ali was the intimate friend of Muley 
Ibrahim, (or prince Abraham,) the king or governor of the city ; that 
Shitck Ali h-ad claimed us as his property, alleging that Sidi Hamet 
was his son-in-law, and owed him a great deal of money, and that he 
(Sidi Hamet) was now held as a hostage or slave to a Christian in 
Swearah ; that he had insisted we should not proceed one step further 
until fifteen hundred dollars were produced, together with Sidi Hamet, 
the husband of his daughter ; and that in conjunction with Seid, he 
had contrived to stop us hereby the power of the prince. This news 
was to me like a clap of thunder ; it bereft me of all my fortitude : 
the fair prospects 1 had entertained of a speedy liberation from slavery, 
particularly for the last two days, were now suddenly darkened. Rais 
bel Cossim further informed me, that he had argued the matter every 
way, but all to no purpose — that he had promised the money required, 
namely, six hundred dollars, as soon as we should get to Santa Cruz, 
in the emperor's dominions, and that he would agree to have the 
prince and Sheick go along with him and receive it there, and there 
wait for the return of Sidi Hamet ; " but they will not listen to me, 
added he,) and 1 must set off immediately and carry this discouraging 
news to Mr. Willshire, leaving you here until 1 return, which will be 
in six days ; and may God preserve you in the mean time from theii 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 129 

evil machinations." This was more than I could bear : — tears of 
anguish, which I had not the power to control, now gushed from my 
eyes, and my almost bursting heart vented itself in bitter groans of de- 
spair. My companions heard my distress, though at a considerable dis- 
tance from me, and turning fearfully on me their almost extinguished 
eyes, begged for an explanation of the cause. 

Rais bel Cossim was just in the act of mounting his mule to ride off, 
when Sidi Mohammed, who went in the first place with my master 1o 
Swearah, came near him and said, " Rais, — Muley Ibrahim and 
Sheick Ali have determined you shall not go to Swearah; they fear 
you will cause a war to break out between them and the Sultan." 
Observing me in tears and in great affliction, he took me by the hand, 
and said, " Don't be cast down, Riley, I will go to Swearah, and carry 
t letter from Rais, and one from you to Willshire; and if he wants a 
lostage, 1 will stay with him. I have two wives and seven children to 
eave, and houses, and lands, and herds of cattle; and shall be a more 
valuable hostage than Sidi Hamet — he is your friend, and will come 
immediately down and relieve you. God is great and good, (added 
ne,) and will restore you to your family." I kissed his hand in grati- 
tude, and called him father, and hoped the Almighty would reward 
aim for his benevolence. Rais now joined Sheick Ali and the prince, 
who with many attendants were seated on the ground in a circle, out- 
side of the city gate — here they debated the matter over again. Rais 
insisted we were his slaves ; that neither the prince nor Sheick had a 
right to detain what he had bought with his own money, much less to 
stop him like a criminal ; that it was contrary to their religion (which 
made them all brothers) to commit such an outrage en hospitality 
Sheick Ali, on the other hand, contended, that Sidi Hamet and Seid 
owed him money to a large amount ; that we were their joint property, 
and that consequently he had an undoubted right to detain and to 
carry us off into his own tribe or family, and there to keep us until 
Sidi Hamet should return and pay his debt. Rais insisted he had paid 
his money for us, and had nothing to do with Sheick Ali's claim ; 
however, after extolling the justice and virtue of the prince to the 
highest pitch, they both at last agreed to leave it to Muley Ibrahim to 
decide what should be done. Muley Ibrahim now asked Sidi Moham- 
med and Bo-Mohammed what they knew concerning this business, 
and they gave testimony in favour of Rais bel Cossim's previous claim: 
thus prepared, Muley Ibrahim said — " You, Sheick Ali, my old friend, 
and Rais bel Cossim, both of you claim these five phristian slaves as 
your own property, and each of you has some reason on your side — 
yet, as it is not in my power to decide whose claim is the best founded, 
I am resolved, with a strict regard to justice, and without going into 
further evidence, to keep the slaves in my own city, carefully guarded, 
until messengers can be sent to Swearah, who shall bring down Sidi 
Hamet, when you three being confronted, may settle your claims as 
shall be found most consistent with justice." He then proposed that 
Rais should remain with him, like a friend, and without having any 
rhing to fear. This plan was agreed to by all parties, and they shook 
hands upon it like friends. 

This done, we were conducted into the city, and into a house 
adjoining that where the prince lived. A mat was spread for tfeft 



130 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

Sheick and Rais, and their companions to sit on, while we were 
placed in a narrow corner on the ground, among the saddles and other 
stuffs : sentinels with muskets and scimitars were stationed at the 
door of our apartment and the other doors, and at the city gate. It 
was after dark when the dispute was settled, and soon afterwards a 
dish of cous-koo-suo was brought in, of which all partook after due 
ablutions ; and they then performed their evening prayers most 
deyoutly. My companions were very much cast down, and their 
bodies and minds were so much exhausted and debilitated by their 
sufferings, that they had become like children, and wept aloud. J 
was certain that it would have been impossible for Clark and Burns 
to have proceeded further on that day, and 1 tried to persuade t'.ere 
all that it was better for us to be detained a little, as it would g' e us 
an opportunity of taking some rest, without which we shouldi be in 
danger of fainting on our route. Muley Ibrahim, the Sheick, ana 
Rais, were conversing during the whole night, and when daylight 
appeared, (the 2d of November,) Rais furnished me with pen, ink, 
and paper, and told me to write to Mr. Willshire, stating our present 
situation as near as 1 was able : this 1 accordingly did, wnile a talb or 
scrivener was employed in writing a letter for him, as he could not 
write himself. At an early hour Seid, Sidi Mohammed, and Bo-Mo- 
hammed set out for Swearah, taking our letters, and promising to 
return as soon as possible. Sheick Ali also, soon afterwards left us, 
promising to return in four days. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

Rais bel Cossim gains the friendship of the prince— Good provisions 
are procured — Sheick Ali' s plans miscarry — They set off for, and 
arrive at Santa Cniz, in the empire of Morocco. 

Being now left alone with Rais bel Cossim, 1 questioned him con- 
cerning our detention : he said it would be but for a few days, and 
that we needed a little time to refresh ourselves, in order to enable us 
to bear the fatigues of the remainder of our journey ; that he trusted 
we should make a friend of the prince, in whose power we all now 
were, and that he hoped to be able to effect this by making him a 
small present. I told him I almost despaired of living to regain my 
liberty, as 1 was extremely feeble, and must soon perish. "What! 
(said he,) dare you distrust the power of that God who has preserved 
you so long by miracles? No, my friend, (added he,) the God of hea- 
yen and of earth is your friend, and will not forsake you, but in his 
own good time restore you to your liberty and to the embraces of 
your family; we must say, 'his will be done,' and be contented with 
our lot, for God knows best what is for our good." 

To hear such sentiments from the mouth of a Moor, whose nation 
I had been taught to consider the worst of barbarians, I confess, filled 
my mind with awe and reverence, and I looked up to him as a kind 
of superior being, when he added, " We are all children of the same 
heavenly Father, who watches over ill our actions, whether we b« 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 131 

Moor, or Christian, or Pagan, or of any other religion ; we must per- 
form his will." Rais then called Muley Ibrahim, and had a long con- 
ference with him. This prince Ibrahim was a man of very mild 
aspect, of a light complexion, about five feet ten inches in height, 
and rather thin : his countenance was intelligent, and he was very 
active, though apparently sixty or seventy years of age. By the tenor 
of the conversation, I could understand that Rais was flattering him 
highly, but in a delicate way: he asked very affectionately about the 
prince's wives; and understanding he had but one, he inquired if she 
had any children ; and was answered, she had none : he next wished 
to know if she had any tea or sugar, and was answered in the negative. 
We had not seen the faces of any of the women since we arrived 
at the town where Sidi Mohammed dwelt. Rais now managed to get 
a little wood and some water, and we made a fire and boiled some 
coffee; this was done by the help of a small negro girl who was a 
slave to Muley Ibrahim, and during the absence of the prince. Rais, 
by giving the girl a small lump of loaf sugar, persuaded her to carry 
a large lump to her mistress, and also a cup of coffee thick with su- 
gar. The prince had gone out before Rais attempted to bribe the 
girl. After carrying in the coffee and the sugar, the girl returned and 
told Rais that her mistress was much obliged to him, and would keep 
the cup and saucer, for she haa\ never seen One before, and thought 
them very pretty, and begged to know how she might serve him in 
return. Rais sent back word that she could serve him most essen- 
tially by striving to make the prince his friend. About one hour after 
this, Muley Ibrahim entered our apartment, and asked Rais what he 
had been doing with his wife? saying, at the same time, "you had 
no need of gaining my friendship through her influence, for you had 
it already ; " but I could perceive a very great difference in his man- 
ner. He wished to know if Rais did not want to go to the mosque, 
which he said was not far distant. Rais accompanied him thither, and 
I discovered at his return, about two hours after, that all was right be- 
tween him and the prince, and that he had all the liberty he required. 
I had in the mean time made some coffee, of which my companions 
and myself drank as much as we wanted, and nibbled our biscuits; for 
our Arab friends had before taken care to eat up all our boiled tongue. 
We were all of us so excessively weak, that we were not able to fetch 
water for ourselves, and our diarrhoea also continued with the most 
distressing hemorrhoids ; this day, however, had passed away more 
smoothly than I had expected. In the evening the prince came, and 
prayed in company with Rais, and appeared very friendly. After the 
prince retired, Rais informed me that he (Rais) had sent off to a rich 
man, an old acquaintance of his, who lived about one day's journey 
south of us, for money to pay Sheick Ali's demand, and that he ex- 
pected his friend would come to him the next day — "but (said Rais) 
God has made Muley Ibrahim my firm friend ; and he has given his 
princely word that he will protect both me and my slaves, and in case 
force is necessary, he will provide a sufficient escort for us into the 
emperor's dominions ; he will also provide some fowls and eggs for 
you in the morning, and you may tell your shipmates they have 
nothing to fear, for to-morrow M. Shallah,, (i. e. if it is God's will) 
they shall have plenty of good food." This news cheered their spirits, 



132 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

and as our apprehensions had in some measure subsided, we rested 
comfortably. 

Early in the morning of November the 3d, Muley Ibrahim brought 
in some eggs, which we boiled for our breakfast : he gave us salt to 
season them with, and soon after brought half a dozen fowls, and 
Rais taking the fowls' wings in his left hand, and turning his face 
towards the east, after saying aloud, Besmillah, (in the name of the 
most holy God) he cut their throats, and we soon dressed them after 
our fashion, and put them into an earthen pot with water, and set it 
a boiling. The prince had furnished us with wood, and brought us 
water with his own hands ; he next went into his garden, and pulled 
some onions, turnips, and small squashes, with which we enriched 
our soup ; and he also gave us salt and green peppers to season it 
with. We put in four fowls, and this soup would have been thought 
good in any country. A more grateful and wholesome dish could 
not possibly have been prepared for our poor disordered stomachs, 
that had been so long harassed with the most cruel griping pains, and 
felt as if they had lost all power of digestion. The prince and Rais 
had a bowl of the soup, with a part of the fowls, and seemed to relish 
it exceedingly. The prince insisted on my eating from the same dish 
with them : inquired concerning my wife and children, wished to 
know their sex : and continued from that time during our stay in his 
city to administer all the relief and comfort in his power, both to me 
and my desponding and wretched companions, whose last ray of hope 
had faded away on our being stopped here; although in fact they 
were not in a condition to continue their journey, particularly Burns 
and Clark, for they had sunken into a lethargic state, bordering on 
dissolution. Yet, when I was enabled to explain the causes of our 
detention, and to inform them that the prince was our friend, and 
gave them nourishing soups, their spirits came again, and hope raised 
them from the ground. To the circumstance of this stoppage alone, 
and the friendship and protection of this good chief, I attribute, under 
Providence, the salvation of our lives. On the second dav of our 
detention, in the afternoon, the old man, Rais bel Cossim's friend, to 
whom he had written for assistance, came to see him; he had been 
riding all night to be with Rais in time. Their meeting was a friendly 
one ; the old man had two mules, on one of which were two baskets, 
containing a dozen of fowls, and some dry cous-koo-soo; these he 
presented to Rais, and said he had brought five hundred dollars for 
his use, as he requested, and that he would bring it in: but Rais had 
now become the friend of Muley Ibrahim, and therefore did not need 
the money ; yet this old friend insisted on his taking the fowls as a 
present, with some eggs he had also brought with him: these Rais 
accepted, for he said thev were meant as a present to me. I had some 
fowls cooked already, and the old man sat down and ate with Rais, 
and would have me to be one of the company : he told Rais that if 
he would but say the word, he would go and collect his friends and 
take the slaves by force of arms, and in spite of SSheick Ali's opposi- 
tion, would carry us safe to Santa Cruz, and beyond his power : but 
as Muley Ibrahim had given his word, on which Rais said he could 
depend, to see us all safe to Santa Cruz, and to use all his force and 
influence, if that should be necessary, the old man, whose name 1 am 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 133 

lorry to say I have forgotten, left us and returned to his home. We 
now lived for three days as well as we could wish. 

On the fourth day after Seid's departure, a kind of fair was held at 
a short distance from our city, and Rais told me he was going to it, 
and would try by some manoeuvre to liberate us, and to get us on to 
wards the sultan's dominions. — A- man of great influence lived about 
five leagues distance from that city. He was called a son of the holy 
prophet, or Shariff; had been to Morocco, and was also called elajjh ; 
(tne pilgrim :) he was looked upon by all, far and near, as possessing 
supernatural powers, and was obeyed and almost worshipped as a 
superior being ; and his word or dictate was equivalent to a law. Rais 
went to the fair and from thence to the place of worship, and did not 
return until the afternoon, when he informed me he had bought a 
bullock at the fair, the best and fattest he could find, though it was 
but a small one. He had sent one half of it to the son of the prophet 
(or Shariff) by the hand of a messengei, on a mule, saying, " when 
you deliver the flesh to the el ajjh, and he asks you who sent it to him, 
ell him a pious man, who has lately come from Swearah, and is now 
a guest with Muley Ibrahim, and wishes to be remembered in your 
prayers." This, Rais said, was all the message he sent, but he was 
sure that if the Shariff accepted the present, he should see him before 
the sun went down. Rais had given the other half to Muley Ibrahim, 
and remarked, that it was not so much the real value of a present that 
was taken into consideration by the Moors, but the manner of giving 
it, which laid the receiver under such an obligation as to make him 
your friend for ever. This notion 1 was at a loss to understand, and 
therefore supposed it to be some peculiarity in the customs of these 
singular people. Rais went out to prayers about sunset, and returned 
in a short time, when he mentioned that he had been waited upon by 
the Shariff, who had asked him what favour he wanted, that made hitn 
send such a present to a stranger. Rais told him our story, and that 
he had paid his money for myself and my companions, and begged his 
assistance to force Sheiek Ali (whose power all dreaded) to consent 
to have us removed quietly to Santa Cruz, where Rais thought his 
property would be safe : this the Shariff promised to do, and even to 
exert all his power and influence, if necessary, to remove and protect 
Rais and his property by force of arms, and requested to be informed 
without delay when Sheick Ali returned. 

On the following day (November 4th) the Sheick did return ; and, 
relying on the friendship of Muley Ibrahim, had only one attendant : 
the Shariff was immediately informed of his arrival by express, and 
came to see him as an old friend ; then taking him aside, he advised 
the Sheick to remove his slaves to Santa Cruz as soon as possible, as- 
serting, at the same time, that he was certain that Sidi Ishem, whom 
the Sheick well knew and dreaded, would set out from his city on the 
morrow with a force, in order to seize upon the slaves, whom he had 
before strove hard to purchase for money without success, and if they 
were not in the dominions of the emperor before he came, another day 
would place them in his hands, when the Sheick would not only lose 
them, but it must also kindle a war between him and that powerful chief, 
which would set the whole country in a blaze, and after all it would be 
impossible to deliver them from his grasp by force. When the Sheick 



134 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

heard the advice of the Shariff, he returned tc our prison, and Rais 
contrived to find out what had passed between them, by again meet- 
ing the Shariff at the city gate alone, as had been before agreed upon. 
Rais being thus fully informed and let into the secret, came into the 
apartment and informed me how matters stood. Sheick Ali, in the 
mean time, was unfolding his plan to Muley Ibrahim, and trying to 
gain his consent to let the slaves be carried off in the night by Surprise, 
but the prince would not consent; they were now within his walls, 
and he had given his word they should not be removed until the dis- 
puted right of property was settled by all parties face to face : this he 
should insist on. Finding that plan would not answer any good pur- 
pose, and fearing Sidi Ishem's expected arrival, and wishing to make 
a merit of necessity, this crafty chief addressing Rais bel Cossim, 
told him, in a flattering way, that he had found him to be a good and 
an honourable man, and wished to be called his friend ; that he did 
not doubt Rais's word, since he knew his character, and would there- 
fore consent to go on with the slaves on the morrow morning, as far as 
Santa Cruz, where they would wait for the arrival of Sidi Hamet, and 
settle the right of property amicably. Rais, on the other hand, as 
crafty as the Sheick, took care not to evince any desire of going ; and 
being in the whole secret, now told Sheick Ali, that he had stopped 
him and his Christian slaves at first contrary to the laws of justice and 
hospitality, and that as he had kept them so long a time, he had no 
wish to remove them at present, but would wait with patience until 
Sidi Hamet should come down and convince the Sheick that he had 
done wrong in detaining him. At last, however, he suffered himself to 
be persuaded by the united voices of Sheick Ali and Muley Ibrahim, 
but on the express condition of being escorted to Santa Cruz by the 
prince, who was a party in the whole secret. He was also to procure 
camels for us to ride on, and went forth to engage, and have them 
ready for a start at daylight the next morning. Rais bel Cossim now 
informed me, that MuJey Ibrahim had previo'isly agreed to accompany 
us ; that we were to ride on camels, and that two hundred horsemen 
were to guard us on the road, in order to prevent any treachery on 
the part of Sheick Ali, who might already have troops stationed on the 
way to seize and carry us off to the mountains : he had also given pri- 
vate orders to his friends and his vassals, to hold themselves in readi- 
ness in case of an alarm. The two hundred horsemen were to take 
stations, so as to keep us in continual view without exciting suspicion^ 
and to be ready to carry intelligence. Rais then bade me kill and boil 
what fowls and eggs remained, which I did, with the assistance of mj 
men, who had very much recovered. 

CHARACTER OF SIDI ISHEM. 

While the fowls and eggs were cooking, 1 asked Rais who this Sidi 
Ishem was, as his name alone had seemed capable of inspiring such 
dread. " This Sidi Ishem" said Rais, " is a descendant of the for- 
mer kings of Suse, before it was conquered by the Moon ; — he is a 
man of between fifty and sixty years of age, possessed of great wealth 
and power; is very crafty, and very brave, but rapacious and cruel , 
he has under his command fifteen thousand horsemen, well armed , 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 1 35 

Ihey are of the race of the ancient inhabitants of the country, from 
whom the whole country derives the name of Berberia, corrupted by 
the Europeans into Barbary ; — these Berberians are extremely fierce 
and warlike, and are joined by all the renegado Moors, who escape 
from the emperor's dominion, to evade punishment for crimes they 
had committed. These men are always ready to join him in any of 
his enterprises, for they always get a share of the spoil. He lives in 
the gorge of a mountain, near the town of Widnoon, on the great 
route from Morocco across the great desart, to Soudain, the country 
beyond the desart, and the city of Tombuctoo. All the caravans that 
travel either to or from the desart, are obliged to go close to Wicnoon, 
and as the Atlas mountains are on the one side, and the ridge next the 
sea on the other, they find it highly necessary to secure his friendship 
and protection by presents. Between this chief and the emperor of 
Morocco there exists the most implacable hatred, and a continual jea- 
lousy, which a few years ago broke out into an open war. The em- 
peror sent a powerful army against him, (said to be 30,000 strong,) 
but Sidi Ishem was apprized of its approach in time, and sent off all 
the women, children, and old men, with all their substance, to the 
south foot of the Atlas mountains, and on the great desart. The 
emperor's army entered his territory, where they found nothing to 
subsist upon : yet as they met with no resistance, they carried on 
their work of destruction, by burning all the towns and every thing 
that was combustible, tearing down the houses and walls of their cities, 
so that nothing escaped their violence and rapacity. They continued 
pursuing Sidi Ishem (who hovered about them with most of his men) 
until they were exhausted by fatigue and hunger ; when this chief fell 
upon them by surprise with his infuriated followers, who had been 
rendered doubly desperate by the sight of their ruined cities. They 
slew more than ten thousand on the spot ; those who escaped this 
dreadful carnage, and fled, were hunted down, and nearly all destroy- 
ed, before they could reach the city of Tarudant, (the southern and 
westernmost town in the emperor of Morocco's dominions,) where the 
few that were left found shelter, and spread such terror and dismay 
throughout that part of the empire, by the horrid accounts they gave 
of their disasters, as to render it impracticable to raise another army 
for the purpose of reducing Sidi Ishem and his men to submission. 
All the inhabitants were soon recalled by their chief from the moun- 
tains anddesarts — took possession of their country anew, rebuilt their 
cities and dwellings, and are at this time more powerful, more feared 
and respected, than they were previous to that event.'' This is the 
account Jlais bel Cossim gave me in Spanish, as nearly as my memory 
served me, when I took it down at Mogadore : — he also said that we 
had escaped falling into his hands only by groping our way along 
a private path on the seashore. The substance of this account of Sidi 
Ishem was confirmed, after my anival at Mogadore, by Mr. Wiltshire 
and others. 

Our food being prepared, and every thing packed up tight for a 
start, we took a snort nap, and at daylight on the morning of the 4th 
of November, we were placed on five camels, which were saddled 
much better than any we had hitherto rode : they had on them also 
bags of barley, and empty sacks, made of tent cloth, that would hold 



136 

1 should suppose, ten or twelve bushels ; these all together mad© 
quite a comfortable seat, though rather a wide one, and we could hold 
ourselves on by the ropes that secured the lading. They placed me 
on the largest camel I had yet seen, which was nine or ten feet in 
height. The camels were now all kneeling or lying down, and mine 
among the rest. I thought I had taken a good hold to steady myself 
while he was rising, yet his motion was so heavy, and my strength so 
far exhausted, that I could not possibly hold on, and tumbled off over 
his tail, turning entirely over. 1 came down upon my feet, which pre- 
vented my receiving any material injury, though the shock to my 
frame was very severe. The owner of the camel helped me up, and 
asked me if I was injured ? 1 told him no : " God be praised," said 
he, " for turning you over; had you fallen upon your head, these stones 
must have dashed out your brains ; but the camel," added he, " is a 
sacred animal, and heaven protects those who ride on him ! had you 
fallen from an ass, though he is only two cubits and a half high, it would 
have killed you ; for the ass is not so noble a creature as the camel and 
the horse." I afterwards found this to be the prevailing opinion among 
all classes of the Moors and the Arabs. — When they put me on again, 
two of the men steadied me by the legs until the camel was fairly up, 
and then told me to be careful, and to hold on fast : they also took 
great care to assist my companions in the same way. 

Being now all mounted, we set off to the northeast, leaving Stuka, 
(for that was the name of the place where we had been confined,) 
accompanied by Rais bel Cossim, Muley Ibrahim, and his two ser- 
vants, and Sheick Ali, with his attendant, all riding on mules and 
asses : the five owners of the camels went on foot, ea^ch driving his 
own camel, and taking care of its rider. Stuka is built in a quad- 
rangular form ; its walls would measure about three hundred yards on 
each angle ; they are built of rough stone, laid in clay, and appeared 
to be four or five feet thick at their base, and twenty feet in height, 
tapering off to two feet thick at the top, and were crowned with turrets 
all around. It has but one gate, which is at its north angle, very 
strongly made, and swinging on the ends of its back posts, which are 
let into large stone sockets at the bottom and at the top : the gate 
consisted of two folding leaves, and at night was secured by four heavy 
wooden bars. The town was divided within into as many compart- 
ments as there were families in it, which I should think might amount 
to three hundred, probably containing in all five thousand souls. The 
houses are built of the same materials as the walls — only one story 
high, and flat roofed : excepting the door, they looked like heaps of 
mud and stone : even that of the prince bore the same appearance, 
without any other distinction or ornament than being closer jointed, 
and more bedaubed with mud. All the flocks and herds were driven 
within the Walls every night, and each owner makes those that belong 
to him lie down in nis own yard or enclosure. 

As we travelled on, we passed between a great number of cities or 
towns, similar in appearance to Stuka, with which this truly vast plain 
is chequered. The whole plain seemed very fertile, was planted with 
numerous groves and oichards of fig and other fruit trees, with here 
and there a clump of the arga tree, yellow with fruit. The inhabitants 
were busied in ploughing up the soil, with a kind of Dlough which 1 



\ SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 137 

shall hereafter describe. We proceeded on very rapidly, keeping 
those on foot running constantly, and had been travelling about six 
hours, when we came to the ruins of many towns on our left, similai 
in appearance to Stuka ; near the shattered walls of some of which 
stood several battering machines, but they were at the distance of a 
mile or more from us. These places appeared to have been recently 
inhabited ; for the gardens near the walls were still green with vegeta- 
tion. Wishing to know what had been the cause of such desolation, 
I was informed by Muley Ibrahim and Sheick Ali, through Kais bel 
Cossim, that a family quarrel happened about one year ago between 
the chiefs of two of these towns, which soon broke out into the most 
dreadful kind of warfare : each party engaged their friends to assist 
them in fighting what each termed their righteous battles : the neigh- 
bouring towns joined, some on one side, and some on the other, and 
the plain was deluged with blood. This quarrel being only of a family 
nature, Sidi Ishem did not interfere, and it was finally settled by the 
destruction of seven of those small cities, and most of their inhabi- 
tants. These ruins were now entirely abandoned, and their environs 
laid desolate, though the war continued only one month. 1 could 
scarcely believe it possible for such devastation to have been commit- 
ted in so short a time, or on such trivial grounds ; but Rais bel Cossim 
(who was born near Santa Cruz) assured me that nothing was more 
common than such feuds between families in those parts ; that he had 
known many himself, with every circumstance attending them, and 
that they were very seldom finished until one family or the other was 
exterminated, and their names blotted out from the face of the earth. 

We continued our journey until about mid-day, still on the plain, 
when Santa Cruz or Agader was distinctly seen, and pointed out to 
me. It is situated on the summit of a high mountain ; its walls are 
white, and can be descried at a great distance. The plain on which 
we travelled was nearly level ; not a brook or stream of water had we 

Eassed since leaving the last mentioned river, but the towns and vil- 
tges had many deep wells near their walls, from which the inhabitants 
drew water for themselves and their numerous cattle. — Innumerable 
clumps of the ever-green arga tree, loaded with the rich oil nut, were 
scattered over the plain in every direction. Vast numbers of leafless 
fig trees, and enclosures of grape vines with date, pomegranate 
almond, orange, and other fruit trees, promised abundance in theii 
seasons, and delightfully variegated the scene. Hundreds of the in- 
habitants were busied in ploughing the soil (which appeared rich, 
though dry) and sowing their barley; while their herds were browsing 
on the shrubs round about, for the want of grass. Many unarmed 
men, with dro es of camels and asses loaded with salt and other mer- 
chandise, were meeting and passing us almost continually. We saw 
also from time to time, bands of armed men on horseback, of about 
fifty in each band, most of whom I learned from Rais were the friends 
of Muley Ibrahim, whom he had requested to ride guard, as I before 
mentioned, and to be ready to act in our behalf in case' oi treachery, 
or of any emergency whatever. Our path led us in aN. E. direction, 
and the camels were kept most of the time on a great trot, while their 
dnveis were running on foot, and kept up with us, seemingly, with 

G 



138 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

great ease ; though I compute we rode at the rate of seven or eight 
miles an hour. 

About two P. M. approaching the coast, we fell in with huge drifts 
of loose sand on our left, which extended to the seashore. This sand 
had been driven from the sea-beach by the constant trade winds, and 
as the sea had retired, (for it was clean coarse beach sand,) it had un- 
doubtedly for ages been making its way gradually from the coast, 
(which was now about twenty miles distant,) and had buried, as 1 was 
informed, several flourishing villages, towns, and cities, the tops of 
whose walls were still visible ; the circular domes of a considerable 
number of saint-houses, or sanctuaries, whose bodies were entirely 
enveloped, were yet to be seen among these barren heaps of over- 
whelming sands; for the inhabitants take great care to clear away 
around them, and to give them a whitewashing every year. Muiey 
Ibrahim informed me, that a large town called Rabeah, whose ruins 
we had passed in mounting over the sand hills, was a flourishing place 
within his remembrance ; (probably fifty years ago ;) that he himself 
was born in it — but that large bodies of sand had already encroached 
upon its northern wall; that as soon as it was overtopped it fell in, 
and the whole city was filled with sand in the course of one year after, 
and its inhabitants forced to seek a new shelter. These drifts extend- 
ed as far as we could distinguish sand on our right. 

Having got past the high heaps, which filled a space of eight or ten 
miles in width, we came to the high banks of an apparently once large 
river, now called by the natives el Woed Sta. This river's ancient 
bed, and the high banks, which are still perfectly distinct, bear the 
strongest marks of having been once laved by a stream of four or five 
miles irl breadth, and nearly one hundred feet in depth, or by a part 
of the ocean. The steep, barren, and craggy mountains, rising before 
us to the eastward and southward, though very high, appeared to serve 
only as a base to the mighty range of Atlas, whose towering height 
and grandeur filled my mind with awe and astonishment. Notwith- 
standing my frame was literally exhausted, yet my imagination trans- 
ported me back to a time when this region might have been inhabited 
by men in a higher state of civilization, and when it was probably one 
of the fairest portions of the African continent. My reasons for ima- 
gining this are, first, that it is well known by historians, that the Ro- 
mans had settlements along this coast as far south as Salee at least, 
and no doubt much further. Second, that the Portuguese and Spa- 
niards had possessed the settlements of Mamora, Mazagan, Asbeare, 
Santa Cruz, &c. Third, by the traditional information obtained from 
Rais bel Cossim and Sidi Mohammed, I have no doubt that a large 
city and settlement of civilized men existed at a former period near the 
mouth of the river Schelem, from sixty to one hundred miles west of 
Santa Cruz, and 1 am firmly of opinion, that the convenience of these 
harbours, the luxuriancy of the surrounding soil, and the commercial 
advantages this part of the country offers, were a sufficient inducement 
for colonization. 

We had now approached to within two miles of Santa Cruz or Aga- 
der, (the lower town or port,) when rising an eminence, the oceaD 
opened to our view at a distance, and near by appeared Santa Cruz 
bay. which was then quite smooth. Nearly one hundred good looking 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 139 

fishing boats were hauled up on the beach out of the reach of the surf, 
and numbers of long fishing nets were spread out to dry on the sand 
and over the boats. This view gave a most favourable idea of the 
importance of this bay as a fishery. 

The sun had not yet set, and Xiais informed me he did not wish to 
enter the lower town till dark, and did not mean to go nearer the for- 
tress than he could help, for fear of insult and detention ; so we stop- 
ped about a mile short of it, to the southward, where I had an oppor- 
tunity of examining this bay with a seaman's eye. It is spacious and 
perfectly well defended from the common trade winds, say from N. 
N. W. all around the compass by the east, and as far as S. W. ; 
thence to N. N. W. it is entirely open, and of course is a very dan- 
gerous anchorage in the winter months, when westerly winds prevail 
on these coasts, at which times, as there is no possibility of getting to 
sea, vessels at anchor in this bay must remain where they are; not, 
however, without the greatest risk of being driven on shore in spite of 
the best of anchors and cables, and large vessels must ride too fa/ out 
to make it a good harbour for them at any season of the year. The 
port of Santa Cruz, or, as it is called by the natives, Agader, has been 
shut by order of the Sultan for many years ; yet there are parts of the 
wrecks of vessels still visible, sticking up through the sand on the 
beach. 

A little while after sunset we entered the lower town, or port, as it 
is called : this village is situated on the steep declivity of the moun- 
tain's base, on which the upper town is built, and near the sea, which 
washes the south end of the principal street. The steep side of the 
mountain on which this village is erected, has been apparently sloped 
down by art, so as to make it practicable to build on it; has one prin- 
cipal street, and several small alleys : the houses are built of rough 
stone laid in lime mortar, and are but one story in height, with flat 
roofs terraced with lime and pebbles. We could see the tops of many 
houses below us, and the whole made but a miserable appearance. 
It was not quite dark when we entered the village. The street was 
soon filled with Moors, (men and boys,) and they saluted us by spit- 
ting on us, and pelting us with stones and sticks, accompanied with 
the Spanish words " Carajo a la Mierda It Sara, perro y best'ias" and 
many other chosen phrases, equally delicate and polite; but some of 
the old men now and then uttered a "How de do, Christianos ?" in 
broken English and Spanish. We were conducted through the street 
to its further extremity towards the north, where we took up our quar- 
ters for the night in the open air, alongside a smith's shop ; our 
camels and asses were then fed with barley. Some of the inhabitants 
kindled a fire for our company, whilst others were preparing a rich 
repast for them of boiled and baked fish, and cous-koo-soo, of which, 
after they had eaten, they gave us the remains, and we found it excel* 
lent food. Numbers of men, driving asses before them, loaded with 
fish, had passed us going into the country, the day before, and they 
were of the same kind as those we had tasted soon after our entrance 
into Suse, and we had also seen the same kind of fish at Stuka : they 
carry them from Santa Cruz, or Agader, about the country in every 
direction, where they sell them for a good price, being much in request. 
This fish very much resembles the salmon, both in size, shape, and 



140 

flavour — weighing, from appearance, from eight to sixteen or twenty 
pounds ; and is extremely fat and delicate. 1 then recollected to 
have seen in my several voyages to the Canary Islands, numbers of 
small vessels arrive from the coast of Africa, laden with this species 
of fish, and to have been told they were caught near that coast: they 
are highly esteemed in the Canaries, where they call them Bacalao 
Africano, or the African codfish, and are sold at from five to ten dol- 
lars per quintal, or at least one-third higher than the best of American 
codfish: they are dried, without salting, on the vessels' decks, and 
their scent is so strong as nearly to suffocate the crews of merchant 
vessels that lie near them while discharging. I have been told that 
no less than one hundred barks, of from fifteen to fifty tons burden, 
are continually employed in this fishery near the African coast, from 
the Canary Islands, and that scarcely a year passes without more or 
less of them being driven on shore by tempests or other accidents, 
when the crews either perish with the vessel, or upon their reaching 
the shore are massacred by the natives, or else carried off into the 
interior as slaves, where they are never after heard from. After my 
arrival in Mogadore, or Swearah, 1 was informed that the crew of a 
bark of this description landed imprudently on the beach not far from 
Santa Cruz, about two years since, where they were surprised by a 
sudden attack, but all escaped into the boat except one man, who 
was seized and carried off. On the return of the bark to Teneriffe, 
the wife of the man who had been left, upon inquiring for her husband, 
was informed that he was made a slave : distracted by this shocking 
event, she ran, raving as she was, to the archbishop, and begged of 
him either to take her life, or restore to her arms her lost husband, the 
father of five helpless children: she was poor, but her case excited 
general pity — a subscription was opened, and the sum of about five 
hundred dollars soon raised. The archbishop in the mean time wrote 
to Alexander W. Court, then Spanish agent at Mogadore, to ransom 
this unfortunate man, which he effected with much difficulty ; but as 
the money did not come on in time, or from some other cause, this poor 
Spaniard, whose name was Ferritin, remained in Mogadore for nearly 
a year without being permitted to go home, when Mr. William Will- 
shire and Don Plabo Riva, of Mogadore, and Mr. John O'Sullivan, of 
New-York, interfered in his favour; furnished him with clothing; 
procured for him a passage, and sent him to his disconsolate family. 
This is said to be the only Spaniard who has been redeemed in that 
part of Barbary for many years past. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

Shelck Alt out-mantzuvred again by Rais bel Cossim — They set off in 
the night — Mtet with Sidi Hamet and his brother, accompanied by 
some Moors with mules sent by Mr. Wiltshire for the sufferers U ride 
on — Occurrences on the road — Meeting with Mr. Wiltshire near 
Swearah or Mogadore — They go into that city — are ordered before 
the Bashaw — are cleansed, clothed, and fed by their deliverer. 
\fte.i supper, Rais bel Cossim told me to keep a good look out; 

that he would watch the motions of Sheick Ali, who he still (eared 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 141 

was plotting against our liberty. After I had informed my enfeebled 
and desponding companions that we were now out of danger from the 
Arabs, (having come about fifty miles from Stuka,) and in the empe- 
ror of Morocco's dominions, and, consequently, sure of being libera- 
ted, and that too in a very few days ; and after telling them that we 
must bear up under our fatigues with fortitude, and exert our remain- 
ing strength and spirits, in order to reach Mogadore, we all laid our- 
selves down to rest ; and my companions, though they had the bare 
ground for their bed, yet as they were wrapped up in cloaks, and had 
their stomachs well tilled with good and nourishing food, soon fell 
asleep. As for myself, fear, hope, and various other sensations, kept 
me awake, and I could not close my eyes, but waited with extreme 
anxiety for the appearance of Rais bel Cossim. Soon after midnight 
Rais came, and finding me awake, he roused me and the owners of 
the camels, and requested them to get ready to go on speedily, and 
then told me that on entering this place, while he was busied in feed- 
ing his mule, Sheick Ali had stolen off privately to the town, and 
visited the governor, who had agreed, on his representation, to take 
us into custody in the morning at daybreak, and assist in extorting 
what money the Sheick demanded; or to connive at our being stolen 
and carried back by Sheick Ali's men to Suse. " I have learned this 
(said he) from an old friend of mine, whom I met and commissioned 
to watch Sheick Ali's motions when we were coming into this place : 
awaken your shipmates: you must depart this instant: the drivers 
know the road : it is very rocky : you must tell your men to hold on 
as tight as possible; and remember, if you are four leagues from this 
town before daylight, your liberty is secured, if not, you will be again 
the most miserable of slaves. Encourage your men to use their 
utmost exertions, and 1 hope, with God's blessing, in three days more 
you will be in Swearah with your friend. I will join you as soon as 
possible." The camels were by this time ready : we were placed on 
them, and proceeded up the rocky steeps as fast as possible, but with 
the most profound silence. Sleep seemed to have literally sealed the 
eyes of all the Moors in the lower town, and in the batteries near the 

[lath through which we passed ; these batteries rose one above another 
ike an amphitheatre towards the fortress. The quadrangular walls of 
the town and fortress of S^nta Cruz, or Agader, crowned the summit 
of this mountain on our right, and stand, from appearance, not less 
than fifteen hundred feet ^bove the level of the sea. We went fast 
forward, in profound silence, which was not in the least disturbed by 
the tread of the camels, because their feet are as soft as sponge or lea- 
ther : only the hoarse roaring of the surf breaking among the rock-i 
below us, startled the ear, and excited in my mind frightful images of 
direful shipwrecks, and the consequent miseries of the poor mariner 
driven on this inhospitable coast. 

We had been hurrying on as fast as possible for about two hours, 
2nd had gained the distance of probably three leagues from Santa 
Cruz, when our ears were struck with the clinking sound of iron 
against the stones, which announced the approach of horses or mules 
that were shod ; and in an instant, though dark, we discovered close 
by us on our right, a considerable number of men riding on mules, and 
passing the other way Not a word was uttered on either side, noi 



142 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

could the faces of any be distinguished, though we were not more than 
three or four yards asunder. A thought darting across my mind, sug 
gested to me that it was my old master : I instantly called out, Sidi 
Hamet! and was quickly answered, Ascoon Riley? (who is it, Riley?) 
The whole company stopped in an instant, and the next moment I had 
tne joy of kissing the hand of my old master and benefactor. Sidi 
Mohammed, Seid, and Bo-Mohammed, where in his company, to- 
gether with three or four Moors, whom our kind friend had sent down, 
charged with the money and mules for our ransom and conveyance. 
The principal Moor, and who had charge of the money until we were 
delivered over according to the wish of Sidi Ilamet, spoke Spanish 
fluently : he wanted to inquire of me where Rais bel Cossim was : 1 
told him at Santa Cruz. Sidi Hamet wished to question me himself, 
and asked me " Where is Sheick Ali ?" and when I informed him 
that I had left him in Santa Cruz, in company with Rais bel Cossim 
and Muley Ibrahim, he was satisfied : and said Sheick Ali was a bad 
man, and did not fear God. Seid also pretended to be much rejoiced 
at our being on the road to Mogadore, and yet I thought 1 could dis- 
cover that he was trying to play a deep game of artful duplicity : but 
old Sidi Mohammed was in truth rejoiced to find us in the emperor's 
dominions. — Having now been absolutely delivered over to Bel Mooden, 
the Moor who had charge of the money, he paid it over to Sidi Hamet, 
and three of us were mounted on mules, and proceeded on, while all 
all those whom we met went towards Santa Cruz, except the three 
Moors who owned and brought the mules down for us to ride on, and 
who remained and proceeded northward with us. 

All the time we had stopped to make the necessary arrangements 
above mentioned, the owners of the camels were urging us to go for- 
ward, thereby showing a disposition to obey the orders of Rais bel 
Cossim, and would not for a long time believe that those who 
stopped us were not our enemies. The backs of the mules were 
covered with large saddles made of coa'rse cloth, stuffed with straw, 
and formed very broad, so as to fit their shape, and reached almost 
from their heads to their tails : this kind of saddle is too broad for a 
man to attempt to stride. Over the saddles were placed what the 
Moors and Arabs call a shwerry, which is made like a double basket, 
and formed of palm leaves woven together like mat work : each of 
these baskets might contain about two bushels ; they are attached 
together by a mat woven in with and like the rest, of about a foot and 
a half in width, sufficiently strong to bear a burden, and long enough 
to let them hang down easily on the sides of the mules : the outer 
part of this shwerry is held up by means of a rope passing through 
the handle on one side, and tied to that on the other, passing over the 
mule's back. In this shwerry, they carry their provisions, merchan- 
dise, and spare clothing, (if any they have,) when on their journeys. 
The rider sits on the saddle above the shwerry, with both legs on one 
side, balancing his body exactly, and rides extremely easy, as he can 
shift his position at pleasure, and the mule's gait is an easy, fast am- 
bling walk, which they are taught when very young ; their motion is 
very slight, and was a seasonable relief to our almost dislocated limbs : 
the change, with respect to jolting, was so great from the camel to the 
mule, thai we could not keep our eyes open from mere drowsiness, 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 143 

and Burns getting asleep, dropped off his mule, and was so badly hurt 
as to be from that time incapable of supporting himself ; so that a 
Moor was obliged to sit before or behind him, and keep him on, driving 
the mule at the same time : and this was continued during the remain 
der of our journey. 

We had proceeded in this way until about ten o'clock, when we 
were joined by Raisbei Cossim, Sidi Kamet, Seid, Sidi Mohammed, 
and Bel Mooden. I now inquired of Rais what had become of Muley 
Ibrahim and Sheick Ali, with their attendants, and he told me they 
had set out for their respective homes. I wanted to know all the par- 
ticulars of their proceedings, and Rais promised to satisfy me after 
nreakfast, which we now stopped to eat (viz. biscuit and butter) near a 
well that afforded us good water, though nearly on a level with the 
sea. After we were again mounted, he began to relate as follows : — 
" When my friend told me of Sheick Ali's plan, I stole away softly, 
and came and sent you off without the Sheick's knowledge ; but Mu- 
ley Ibrahim was in the secret, and remained with the Sheick to pre- 
vent alarm if he should awake during my absence." Rais bel Cossim 
further told me in substance, that as soon as we were on our journey, 
he returned and laid himself down to sleep across the door-way, where 
Sheick Ali slept, and in such a manner as to make it impossible for 
the Sheick to go out without alarming him ; the Sheick awoke at the 
dawn of day, and finding himself blockaded in the house, awakened 
Rais, and told him that they had better wait on the governor this 
morning, to which Rais consented, but wanted to see the slaves first, 
so as to have some coffee made : this was agreed on ; but when they 
came where we had slept, and found none of us there, nor the camels, 
nor their drivers, Rais broke out into the most violent passion apparent- 
ly ; accused the Sheick of having robbed him of his slaves during the 
night, and said he would instantly have him seized and delivered up to 
the governor, to be punished according to the Moorish law. Muley 
Ibrahim, who knew the whole affair, joined with Rais, protesting he 
could no longer hold friendship with a man who was capable of com- 
mitting such an act, which he considered to be one of the worst breaches 
of faith that ever disgraced a man of his (the Sheick's) high character. 
Sheick Ali was thunderstruck by this unexpected event — declared, in 
the most solemn manner, that he knew nothing about our escape ; 
begged he might not be delivered up to the governor; acknowledged 
he had laid a plan the preceding evening for our detention ; wished 
Rais to leave the governor a small present, and proceed on the road 
towaids Mogadore in the hope of finding us, saying, we must have 
gone that way, as the gates were shut on the other side, and there 
was no possibility of turning back by any other route. The Sheick 
added, " I am in your power, and will go on with you and my friend 
Muley Ibrahim, without any attendants, to prove to you that I am in- 
nocent, and that I place the greatest confidence in your friendship." 
Thus they agreed to pursue and endeavour to overtake the supposed 
runaway slaves ; but soon after they had mounted the hills north of 
Santa Cruz, meeting our former masters, with Bel Mooden and Sidi 
Mohammed, who had seen us, (as I before mentioned,) they stopped 
and talked over their several affairs. Sheick Ali insisted that Sidi 
Hamethad treated him very ill : that he and Seid owed him four hun 



144 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

dred dollars, which they were to pa\ him on their return from the 
desart, but that they had passed by his lands three days' journey with 
their slaves, without even calling on. him to eat bread : he added, he 
would have gone with them himself, and with an armed force through 
Sidi lshem's country, to prevent that chief from taking their property — 
44 but you wished to cheat me of my money, as you did of my daugh- 
ter," said he, addressing himself to Sidi Hamet. , Sidi Hamet, whose 
voice had been very high before, now lowering his tone, said, it was 
better to settle their disputes than to quarrel ; so he acknowledged he 
owed his father-in-law three hundred and sixty dollars for goods, but 
asserted that they were not worth half the money : he would, how- 
ever, pay the principal, but no interest, which would have swelled the 
amount of debt to more than five hundred dollars : the Sheick agreed 
to take the principal, which was counted out in silver, as he would 
not take gold doubloons in payment, because he did not know heir 
real value. He then delivered up Sidi Hamet's bond, and said he 
would return to his tribe. Rais bel Cossim gave Muley Ibrahim a 
present in cash, and they separated, having first vowed everlasting 
friendship, and joined in prayer for the success of their several 
journeys. 

Our company now consisted of Rais bel Cossim, Bel Mooden, Sidi 
Hamet, Seid, Sidi Mohammed,, and three muleteers, all armed with 
muskets, swords, or daggers — the five Bereberies with their camels, who 
had brought us on from Stuka, and myself and four shipmates. We 
proceeded along the coast, sometimes on a sand beach, now climbing 
an almost perpendicular mountain of great height, by a winding kind 
of zigzag road that seemed to have been cut in the rock in many 
places by art; then descending into deep valleys by this kind of natu- 
ral steps ; the rocks on our right for a great distance, rising nearly 
perpendicularly. The path we were now obliged to follow, was not 
more than two feet wide in one place, and on our left it broke off in a 
precipice of some hundred feet deep to the sea — -the smallest slip of 
the mule or camel, would have plunged it and its rider down the rocks 
to inevitable and instant death, as there was no bush or other thing to 
ay hold of by which a man might save his life. Very fortunately 
for us, there had been no rain for a considerable time previous, so that 
the road was now dry. Rais told me when it was wet it was never 
attempted, and that many fatal accidents had happened there within 
his remembrance ; though there was another road that led round over 
the mountains far within the country. 

One of these accidents he said he would mention. " A company 
of Jews, six in number, from Santa Cruz for Morocco, came to this 
place with their loaded mules in the twilight, after sunset ; being very 
anxious to get past it before dark, and supposing no other travellers 
would venture to meet them, or dare to pass it in the night, they did 
not take the precaution to look out, and call aloud before they entered 
Dnit; for there is a place built out on each end of this dangerous 
piece of road, from whence one may see if there are others on it : not 
being quite half a mile in length, a person by hallooing out can be 
heard from one end to the other, and it is the practice of all who go 
that way, to give the signal. A company of Moors had entered at the 
other end, and going towards Santa Cruz at the same time, and they 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 145 

also supposing that no others would dare to pass it at tl at hour, came 
on without the usual precaution. About half way over, and in th\ 
most difficult place, the two parties met : there was no possibility o ( * 
passing each other, nor of turning about to go back either way: the 
Moors were mounted as well as the Jews : neither party could retire 
nor could any one, except the foremost, get off of his mule. The 
Moors soon became outrageous, and threatened to throw the Jews down 
headlong : the Jews, though they had always been treated like slaves, 
and forced to submit to every insult and indignity, yet finding them- 
selves in this perilous situation, without the possibility of retiring, and 
being unwilling to break their necks merely to accommodate the Moors, 
the foremost Jew dismounted carefully over the head of his mule 
with a stout stick in his hand : the Moor nearest him did the same, 
and came forward to attack him with his scimitar: both were fighting 
for their lives, as neither could retreat — the Jew's mule was first pitch- 
ed down the craggy steep, and dashed to atoms by the fall — the Jew's 
stick was next hacked 10 pieces by the scimitar ; when finding it was 
impossible for him to save his life, he seized the Moor in his arms, and 
springing off the precipice, both were instantly hurled to destruction : 
two more of the Jews and one Moor lost their lives in the same way, 
together with eight mules ; and the three Jews who made out to escape, 
were hunted down and killed by the relations of the Moors who had 
lost their lives on the pass, and the place has ever since been called 
" the Jew's leap." It is, indeed, enough to produce dizziness, even in 
the head of a sailor, and if I had been told the story before getting on 
this frightful ridge, I am not certain but that my imagination might 
have disturbed my faculties, and rendered me incapable of proceeding 
with safety along this perilous path. The danger over, however, and 
the story finished, we found ourselves mounting the first bank from the 
sea on Cape Geer. When we came on the height, at the pitch of the 
Cape, 1 rode up to the edge of the precipice to look down upon the 
tumultuous ocean. The present Cape is about one hundred feet in 
height, and appeared to have been much shattered and rent by the 
waves and tempests : huge masses of rocks had been undermined, 
broken off, and tumbled down one upon another, forming very wild 
and disorderly heaps in the water all around it. 1 could not help shud- 
dering at the sight and sound of the surf as it came thundering on, and 
burst against the trembling sides of this rocky Cape, which is about a 
a mile in length, and is already undermined in a such a manner, that 
the whole road along which we passed will very probably soon tumble 
down among the assailing billows. On our right, the land rose gradu- 
ally like an inclined plane, and was covered with pebbles and other 
round smooth stones that bore strong marks of having been tossed 
about ana worn by the surf on the sea beach : it rose thus for about 
two miles, when it was interrupted by perpendiculir and overhanging 
cliffs of craggy and broken rocks, three or four humkeed feet in height: 
these rocks, and the whole face of the upper Cape, bore as strong 
marks of having once been washed and beat upon by the ocean, as 
did the cliff below us, against which it was now dashing with dreadful 
violence. Along most parts of the inclined plane, and particularly 
near the upper cliff, were large mounts of loose sand in form of snow 
lrifts. This sand was now flying up from the beach below, being 
G2 



146 

olown out from among the rocks by the strong trade winds at every 
low tide, and almost as soon as thedashings of the waves among them 
had prepared it : this sand, and in fact all we had seen since we came 
to the cultivated country, was the same in appearance as that which we 
saw and passed through on the desart, and must have been produced 
and heaped up by the same causes. After passing the Cape about 
one hour's ride, we came to the high bank of a river, and descending to 
its left shore, we found its mouth was filled up with sand that had been 
washed in by the sea, though the river was about a half a mile wide at 
its end, an i appeared quite deep : here we stopped to take some food, 
namely, biscuit and butter. 

Bel Mooden had also brought some dried figs, dates, and nuts. Ha- 
ving finished our repast, we were again placed on our beasts, and pro- 
ceeded round the mouth of the river on a sandy beach, about one 
hundred yards wide, and .twenty feet above the level of the fresh water 
within, and thirty feet above the sea water on the beach at high tide. 
Our guides informed me that this river was called "el ivoed Tensha ;" 
that it had formerly been a very wide and deep one, and used to empty 
itself into the sea ; that in the rainy season it was impossible to pass 
it without going twenty miles up the country ; but for the last few 
years ere nad not been rain enough in this part of the countrv to 
force open its mouth. 

Having left the margin of the river, we entered on a plain, and 
struck off to our right in a direction nearly east, and we went forward as 
fast as possible towards the high land. We had passed many sanctu- 
aries, but had not observed a single dwelling house, nor even a tent, 
since we ^eft Santa Cruz. We now beheld several square walled 
places, which answer the double purpose of dwelling house and castle, 
crowning the top of the high mountain, which appeared very dry and 
sterile, mostly composed of layers of huge rocks and very steep, with 
a few dry shrubs scattered thinly about the crevices and small fiat 
spots or spaces. Approaching the foot of the mountain, we came to 
a very deep hollow, apparently formed by the washings of a small 
stream of water, assisted by rains that have poured through it from 
time immemorial. Our way wound up through this steep hollow, and 
alongside of the little brook before mentioned. As we entered it, the 
eye was delighted with the beauty of the scene. The bottom of the 
hollow had been made level by art, and was covered from its base with 
gardens, which rose one above another in the form of an amphitheatre : 
they were kept up to a level by means of solid stonewalls laid in lime, 
and had been filled in with rich soil : the longest was not greater in 
extent than twenty yards by ten. The sides of the hollow were so 
steep, that the upright walls were not less than ten or fifteen feet in 
height between each garden : they were well stocked with most kinds 
ef vegetables cultivated in kitchen gardens, and with melons : gutters 
were curiously disposed around these gardens, to convey water to 
every part, at the pleasure of the proprietor : they had growing on 
their sides an abundance of fig and date trees, and grape vines running 
up the sides of the rocks; and a little higher up, hundreds of the dwarl 
arga tree, wnose yellow fruit contributed to enliven the prospect. We 
were at least two hours in gaining the summit, when it had become 
dark, and we had to pass down the mountain on its east side through 



BUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 147 

another hollow, though not a fertile one ; for here was no running 
water. The narrow path we travelled in, had been worn into the lime- 
stone rock, by ^e feet of mules and horses that had passed along it, 
no doubt, during the course of many centuries ; and, assisted by 'he 
rain water streaming through it from above, it was in some places 
channelled out to the depth often or fifteen feet, and just wide enough 
for a camel or mule to pass. In one place it became necessary, for the 
want of sufficient room to get through, to take the hiding from the 
mules and cairy it down by hand. After descending about three hours 
we came to a plain, and kept on in an eastern direction until about, 
midnight, when we approached the walls of a small city, or dwelling- 
place, and took up our lodgings near it on the flat top of a long cis- 
tern, which afforded plenty of water. The chief men of the city, 
alarmed by the barking of their dogs, soon came out and welcomed 
their visitors by the well known Arabic salutation, " Salerno Alikom y 
Labez" &c. 

They furnished our company with a supper of cous-ko >-soo, while 
I and my men ate some dates and dry figs. The night was damp and 
cold, and this, with my fatigues, rendered it impossible for me to sleep. 
We stayed here for about three hours, when daylight appearing, (Oc- 
tober the 6th,) we were again mounted, and proceeded on our journey. 
My companions, as well as myself, were so weak, being really worn 
out, and completely exhausted, that it was with the gieatest difficulty 
they could be supported on the mules. As daylight increased, we 
saw a numbtr of towns or dwellings handsomely enclosed with high 
walls of stone, cemented with lime: the land on the plain was divided 
off and fenced in with rough stone walls made with great labour : nu- 
merous flocks of goats were feeding on the oil nut ; some herds of 
cattle, with a few old horses, asses, and camels, were nibbling off the 
green leaves and branches of small shrubs, for the want of grass : we 
also saw many regula'iy planted orchards of fig trees; and the land 
was in many places ploughed and ready to receive the seed barley, so 
soon as rain should fall sufficient to ensure its vegetation. 

We went forward to the northeastward, and on rising a hill, we saw 
two mountains before us to the north, over which I v/as informed wc 
must pass : the farthest one north appeared to be twenty miles distant. 
We soon began to climb the nearest, and when we reached its summit, 
looking to the east, the Atlas was fairly in view, and all its lofty peaks 
covered with snow. Descending this mountain, we met large droves 
of camels, mules, and asses, laden with salt and other merchandise, and 
driven by a considerable number of Moors and Arabs. The Moors 
were easily distinguished by their dress : they had each, besides his 
haick, a caf'an or close jacket next his skin, and the most of them 
had turban- on their heads. They were armed with daggers, or scimi- 
tars, suspended from their necks by a cord of red woolen yarn thrown 
over the left shoulder: the sen!, bards were such as 1 have before de- 
scribed. The dagger is worn outside of the haick ; its handle is made 
of wood, handsomely wrought. The point of the dagger hooks in- 
ward like a pruning knife : when they have occasion to use it, they 
seize it with their right hand, the lower side of the hand being next 
to the blade, and strike after raising it above their heads, ripping 
open their adversary : they never attempt to parry a stroke with their 
daggers. 



148 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

The valley between these two mountains had been well cultivated 
and would be very productive with seasonable rains, but at this time 
those dreadful scourges, severe droughts, and myriads-pf locusts, had 
destroyed almost every green thing : even the leaves of the trees and 
sh-ubs had not escaped their devastations. I was informed by Rais 
bel Cossim that we were now in the province of Hah hah, and that the 
locusts had utterly laid waste the country for the last six years, so that 
the land now groaned under a most grievous famine ; nor could oui 
company procure any barley or other food for their beasts. This pro- 
vince must be naturally a very strong military country ; it is very 
mountainous, and rendered almost inaccessible by the craggy steeps 
and narrow roads, or defiles, through which an army would be under 
the necessity of marching. The cities, or rather castles, in which 
the inhabitants reside, are built strong with stone and lime, and are 
fifteen or twenty feet in height, generally of a quadrangular form of 
from fifty to two hundred yards square, and the tops crowned with 
turrets : within these walls all the flocks and herds are driven every 
night for safe keeping. All the men in these parts are well armed 
with long Moorish muskets, and with sabres, or daggers, by their sides : 
there are no Arabs dwelling in this part of the country, as they always 
live intents, and will not be confined within walls; nor had we seen a 
tent since our arrival at the dwelling of Sidi Mohammed. 

The valley now spread out to the right, and might be termed a 
considerably extensive plain, on which but few castles or dwellings 
appeared, and we saw no river or stream of water, though there were 
high mountains on both sides. The little herbage that had sprung up, 
in consequence of the recent rains, was destroyed by the locusts, 
which were to be seen thinly scattered over the ground, and rose in 
considerable numbers on our approach, skipping like grasshoppers. 
Rais bel Cossim informed me that the flights of locusts, from which 
these few had strayed, had gone to some hitherto more favoured part 
of the country to continue their ravages. 

While we were tranquilly travelling along, 1 asked Rais in what 
manner the oil was extracted from the nuts that grew in such quantities 
on the arga tree, which entirely covered the sides of the hills. He told 
me that in the country these nuts were swallowed by the goats, (and 
in fact we saw these animals picking them up under the trees;) 
that the nut passes through, after being deprived of its bark, which, 
though very bitter, was highly relished by the goats, and when voided, 
tha women and children, who tend them, pick up the nuts and put 
them into a bag, slung about them for the purpose, and carry them 
home, where they crack them between stones, get out the kernel, and 
expressing the oily juice from them, they boil it down in a jar until it 
becomes of a proper consistence, when it is poured off and fit for use. 
The appearance of this fruit growing thickly on the trees, different in 
size, and variegated in colour from green to red, and from that to 
bright yellow, had a pleasing effect : the ground beneath the trees 
was also covered with them. 

Having come to the foot of the high mountain, we ascended it, 
winding up its steep side in a zigzag path very difficult of ascent, 
and indeed almost impracticable, On our left was a deep gully, with 
a considerable stream of water running down through it, like a sma 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 149 

mill-stream: it poured over the precipices, making a loud roaring, 
that might be heard at a great distance ; though the whole stream 
seemed to lose itself entiiely in the sand before it reached the bottom 
of the mountain. The sides of this gully were shaded by the arga 
and bean tree, and many other bushes ; and near the water 1 disco- 
vered a few yew or hemlock bushes, that reminded me of scenes J had 
been familiar with in my own country. As we rode near the top of 
the mountain, this gully assumed the appearance of a rich valley, 
filled with gardens one above another, supported by strong stone walls 
in the same manner as those I have already described, though much 
larger, and they were apparently well watered by the stream that was 
carried around them in gutters fitted for that purpose. These gardens 
looked as if they were well cultivated, and stored with vegetables ; 
and numbers of men and boys were at work tilling and dressing them. 
On the highest part of the mountain that we reached, 1 was much 
surprised to find a considerable plain spot, nearly covered with stacks 
of salt, which stood very thick, and must, I think, have amounted to 
several hundreds. To see marine salt in such quantities on the top 
of a mountain, which I computed to stand at least fifteen hundred 
feet above the surface of the ocean, excited my wonder and curiosity; 
but we stopped short of them, for the camels we had started with from 
Stuka, were to carry loads of this salt back ; so that after Rais had 
paid the owners of them for their trouble and assistance, they went 
towards the salt heaps, wishing us a prosperous journey. While we 
were stopped to settle with them, we were taken from the mules and 
seated on the ground, when many of the inhabitants came near to 
have a look at us, Christian slaves. They brought with them a few 
raw turnips, which they distributed among us : they were the sweetest 
I had ever tasted, and very refreshing. We were soon placed upon 
the mules again, and I rode a little to the left, in order to find out in 
what way this great quantity of salt had been procured and deposited 
in this singular situation ; and on a near approach, I saw a great num- 
ber of salt pans formed of clay, and very shallow, into which water was 
conducted by means of small gutters cut for the purpose in the clay. 
The water issues in considerable quantities from the side of the moun- 
tain, in the northwest part of the plain, (which has been levelled down, 
and regulated with great labour,) and is very strongly impregnated 
with salt : the pans or basins being very shallow, the water is soon 
evaporated by the heat of the sun, and a crystallization of excellent 
salt is the result. It is small grained, and tinged by the reddish 
colour of the clay of which the pans are formed. The highest peak 
of the mountain did not appear to rise above the salt spring more 
than about one hundred feet. A great number of men and boys were 
employed in raking and heaping up the salt, and numbers more in sell- 
ing and measuring it out, and loading it on -camels, mules, and asses 
Rais bel Cossim informed me that this spring furnished the greatest 
proportion of the salt that is made use of in the Moorish dominions, 
ami in Suse; and J should estimate the number of camels, mules, 
and asses that were there at that time waiting for loads, at from four 
to five hundred. We had met hundreds on the route since we left 
Stuka, loaded with this article, and I afterwards saw manv loads of 
the same kind of salt enter Mogadore, Saffy, and Rabat. 



150 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

We proceeded to the northward down the mountain, which is not 
so steep on its north as on its south side. The country, after de- 
scending it, was tolerably smooth, with much of the arga wood flour- 
ishing on every side. Soon after dark we came to a wall that enclosed 
a space of ground forty or fifty yards square : it was built of stone and 
lime, six or eight feet in height, with an open space like a gateway on 
its northern side, through which we entered, and took up our lodgings 
on the ground, which was very smooth. A walled village was near 
this yard on the west, and on the north, outside of both walls, stood 
a mosque, or house of worship : the inhabitants were chanting their 
evening or eight o'clock prayers when we entered the yard ; yet none 
of them came out to look at us, their attention being wholly confined 
to their religious duties. We were taken from the mules and placed 
near the wall, which kept off the night wind, and after we had nibbled 
a little biscuit and drank some water, we thanked God for his good- 
ness, and tried to get a little sleep. The wind did not molest us, 
and we rested until about midnight, when we were awakened by the 
noise occasioned by a company of men with loaded camels and 
mules : they had already entered the yard without ceremony, to the 
number probably of thirty men, with three times as many camels, 
mules, and asses. I was awakened by the bellowing of the camels, 
as they were forced to lie down with their heavy loads. The men 
did not speak to ours, and as soon as they had tethered their mules by 
tying ropes round their footlock joints, and fastening them to pegs 
driven into the ground for that purpose, they laid themselves down to 
sleep, wrapped up in their haicks. 

Our whole company being awake, they saddled their mules, put us 
thereon, and we proceeded on our journey. It was very dark, and 
the path lay through a rough stony country. We were so weak, that 
we could not sit on the mules without one being behind to steady our 
tottering frames : at daylight we found ourselves near some substan- 
tial buildings, and 1 begged of Rais to buy some milk if it was possi- 
ble : he rode near the gates and asked some of the inhabitants for 
milk ; but they would not sell any. This to me was a sore disap- 
pointment, as I was benumbed with cold, and so much fatigued that I 
thought it would be impossible for me to ride much further; which 
Rais observing, said to me, "Keep up your spirits, Captain, only a 
few hours longer, and you will be in Swearah, if God Almighty con- 
tinues his protection." I was so reduced and debilitated, that I could 
not support even good news with any degree of firmness, and such 
was my agitation, that it was with the utmost difficulty 1 could keep 
on my mule for some moments afterwards. We had been constantly 
travelling for three days and most of three nights, and though I con- 
cluded we must be near Swearah, 1 did not think we should reach it 
jefore late in the evening. Passing along a narrow footway between 
Aigh bushes, we came to a long string of sand hills on our left, drifted 
up like the sand heaps on the desart, and along the coast : it was 
then about eight o'clock in the morning, when mounting the side of 
one of those hills, the city of Swearah broke suddenly upon our view, 
with the island of Mogadore forming a harbotir, in which was a brig 
-iding at anchor with English colours flying: — "Take courage, Cap- 
tain " said the good Rais; "there is Swearah," oointing towards the 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 151 

town; "and there is a vessel to carry you to your country and family : 
if God please you will soon see the noble Wiltshire, who will relieve 
you from all your miseries. 1 thank my God your sufferings are 
nearly at an end, and that 1 have been found worthy to be an instru- 
ment in the hands of the Omnipotent to redeem you from slavery." 
He next returned thanks to the Almighty in Arabic, with all that fer- 
vour and devotion, so peculiar to Mohammedans, and then he ejacu- 
lated in Spanish, " May it have pleased Almighty God to have preser- 
ved the lives of my wife and children." 

We now proceeded down the sand hills towards the city — but very 
dowly. Sidi Hamet had been for some time missing: he had gone 
privately forward, to be first to carry the news to our deliverer of our 
approach ; and now Bel Mooden and Sidi Mohammed left us for a 
similar purpose, and made the best of their way towards the city. It 
would be idle for me to attempt to describe the various emotions of 
my mind at this exquisitely interesting moment: 1 must leave that to 
be conceived by the reader. We soon approached the walls cf an 
imperial palace, which is situated about two miles southeast of Swea- 
rah, or Mogadore. The walls are built in a square of probably one 
hundred yards at each side, and about twenty feet in height — they 
enclose four small square houses, built at the four corners within, and 
which rise one story above the walls : the houses have square roofs, 
coming to a point in the centre, and handsomely covered with green 
tiles — they, as well as the other walls, are built with rough stone, 
cemented with lime, plastered over and whitewashed. 

Near the western angle of the walls we stopped, and were taken off 
our mules and seated on the green grass. A small stream of fresh 
water, running from the east, was spreading over the sand near its 
northern wall, flowing and meandering slowly towards the bay over 
the beach, in a number of small rills. The water in the bay was quite 
smooth; small boats were moving gently on its glassy surface, oi 
were anchored near its entrance, probably for the purpose of fishing, 
this, together with the sight of great numbers of men driving camels, 
cows, asses, and sheep, and riding on horses, all at a distance, and 
going different ways, together with the view of the high steeples in 
Mogadore, infused into my soul a kind of sublime delight and a hea- 
venly serenity that is indescribable, and to which it had ever before 
been a stranger. The next moment I discovered the American flag 
floating over a part of the distant city: at this blessed and transport- 
ing sight, the little blood remaining in my veins gushed through my 
glowing heart with wild impetuosity, and seemed to pour a flood of 
n:w life through every part of my exhausted fram". We were still 
seated on the green sward near the western wall, and the mules that 
brought us there were feeding carelessly before us at a little distance. 
Our deliverer, who had received news of our coming from Sidi llamet, 
having first directed the flag of our country to be hoisted as a signal, 
had mounted his horse, ridden out of the city, and came to the eastern 
side of the palace walls, where Kais bel Cossim met him — unknown 
to me. 1 expected him soon, but did not think he \v;is so near. He 
had dismounted, and was prepared to behold some of the most mise- 
rable objects his imagination could paint. He led his horse along the 
south angle, and near the wall : Kais was by his side, wUn opening 



152 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

past the comer, I heard Jlais exclaim, in Spanish, '• Alia estan" — 
"there they are:" — at this sound we looked up and beheld our deli- 
verer, who had at that instant turned his eyes upon us. He started 
back one step with surprise. His blood seemed to fly from his visage 
for a moment, but recovering himself a little, he rushed forward, and 
clasping me to his breast, he ejaculated, " Welcome to my arms, my 
dear sir; this is truly a happy moment." He next took each of my 
companions by the hand, and welcomed them to their liberty, while 
tears trickled down his manly cheeks, and the sudden rush of all the 
generous and sympathetic feelings of his heart nearly choked his 
utterance : then raising his eyes towards heaven, he said, " J thank 
thee, great Author of my being, for thy mercy to these my brothers." 
He could add no more; his whole frame was so agitated that his 
strength failed him, and he sunk to the ground. We, on our part, 
could only look upwards in silent adoration, while our hearts swelled 
with indescribable sensations of gratitude and love to the all wise, all 
powerful, and ever merciful God of the universe, who had conducted 
us through so many dreadful scenes of danger and suffering ; had con- 
trolled the passions and disposed the hearts of the barbarous Arabs in 
our favour, and had finally brought us to the arms of such a friend. 
Tears of joy streamed from our eyes, and Rais bel Cossim was so 
much affected at this interview, that in order to conceal his weeping, 
he hid himself behind the wall ; for the Moors as well as the Arabs, 
hold the shedding of tears to be a womanish and degrading weakness. 
After a short pause, when Mr. Willshire had in some measure recover- 
ed, he said, " Come, my friends, let us go to the city ; my house is 
already prepared for your reception." — The mules were led up, and 
we were again placed on them, and rode off slowly towards Mogadore. 
Mr. Savage and Clark were on one mule, and Burns and Horace on 
another, for the purpose of mutually supporting each other ; but their 
debility was such, that they fell off on the beach two or three times 
before they reached the city; — however, it was on the soft sand, and 
as they were very light, they seemed to have received no material 
injury : they were again placed on the mules % and steadied until our 
arrival at the gates of Swearah, by Moors walking beside them. The 
gateway was crowded with Moors, Jews, and negroes — the news of our 
coming having spread through the city, and a curiosity to see Christian 
slaves, had brought them together in great numbers ; and the men 
and boys of the rabble were only restrained from committing violence 
on us, by the gate-keepers and a (exv soldiers, who voluntarily escorted 
us to Mr. Willshire's house, and in some measure kept off the crowd : 
there we were taken from our mules : but some soldiers coming in at 
that instant, said it was the Bashaw's orders that we should appear 
before him immediately, and we were constrained to obey: it was but 
a few steps, and we were enabled to walk there by supporting one 
another. When we came to the door, we were ushered into a kind of 
entry-way, which served as an audience chamber, by Mr. Willshire's 
Jew interpreter, who in token of submission, was obliged to pull off 
his cap and slippers before he could enter. We were ordered to sit 
down on the floor, and we then saw before us a very respectable look- 
ing Moor, of about sixty years of age: he was sitting cross-legged on 
a mat or carpet that lay on the floor which was terrace work, drinking 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 153 

tea from a small cup — his dress was the haiclc. After he had finished 
his cup of tea and looked at us a moment, he asked me, through the 
interpreter, what countryman I was ? where my vessel was wrecked * 
how many men I had in all, and if the remainder were alive? how 
long I had been a slave, and if the Arab, my last master, had treated, 
me kindly? He wanted, further, to know how much money from my 
vessel fell into the hands of the Arabs, and what other cargo she had 
on board. Having satisfied his inquiries in the best manner I was 
able, he said we were now free, and he would write to the emperor 
respecting me and my men, and hoped he would give us leave to ge- 
nome to our country : he then dismissed us. Mr. Willshire was with 
us, and answered all the questions the Bashaw chose to put to him, 
and then assisted us in returning to his house. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

The author and his companions are cleansed, clothed, and fed — He, be 
comes delirious, but is again restored to reason — The kindness of Mr. 
Willshire — Letter from Horatio Sprague, Esq. of Gibraltar — Au- 
thor's reflections on his past sufferings, and on the providential chain 
of events that had fitted him for enduring them, and miraculously 
supported and restored him and his four companions to their liberty. 

Upon our arrival at Mr. Willshire's house, some Jews were ready 
tp shave off our beards ; and as the hair of our heads was also in a 
very unpleasant condition, being literally filled with vermin, that, as 
well as our beards, underwent the operation of the scissors and razor: 
the hair was cut off at least as close as the horrible state of our skin 
and flesh would admit of: this may be imagined, but it is absolutely 
too shocking for description. Our squalid and emaciated frames were 
then purified with soap and water, and our humane and generous friend 
furnished us with some of his own clothing, after our bodies, which 
were still covered with sores, had been rubbed with sweet oil. Mr. 
Willshire's cook had by this time prepared a repast, which consisted 
of beef cut into square pieces, just large enough for a mouthful before 
it was cooked ; these were then rolled in onions, cut up fine, and 
mixed with salt and pepper ; they were in the next place put on iron 
skewers and laid horizontally across a pot of burning charcoal, and 
turned over occasionally, until perfectly roasted : this dish is called 
Cubbub, and in my opinion far surpasses in flavour the so much admi 
red beef-steak; as it is eaten hot from the skewers, and is indeed an 
excellent mode of cooking beef. We ate sparingly of this delicious 
food, which was accompanied with some good wheat^n bread and 
butter, and followed by a quantity of exquisite pomegranates : for oui 
stomachs were contracted to such a degree by long fastings, th«t they 
had lost their tone, and could not receive the usual allowance for a 
healthy man. A doctor then appeared, and administered to each of us 
a dose of physic, which he said was to prepare our stomachs for eating. 
He was a Jew, who had been bred at Moscow in Russia, had studied 
medicine there, and had since travelled through Germany, Italy, anf( 



154 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

Spain ; he spoke the Spanish language fluently, and I was convinced, 
before 1 left Mogadore, that he possessed much medical as well as 
surgical skill. He had only been in Mogadore two months, and there 
was no other physician in that city, or in that part of the country, 
except jugglers or quacks. Good beds had been fitted up for myself 
and Mr. Savage in the same room, and after being welcomed by Mr. 
John Foxcroft and Don Pablo Riva, who had heard of our arrival, we 
retired to rest. 

My mind, which (though my body was worn down to a skeleton) had 
been hitherto strong, and supported me through all my trials, distresses, 
and sufferings, and enabled me to encourage and keep up the spirits 
of my frequently despairing fellow sufferers, could no longer sustain 
me : my sudden change of situation seemed to have relaxed the very 
springs of my soul, and all my faculties fell into the wildest confusion. 
The unbounded kindness, the goodness, and whole attention of Mr. 
Willshire, who made use of all the soothing language of which the 
most affectionate brother or friend is capable, tended but to ferment 
the tempest that was gathering in my brain. 1 became delirious — 
was bereft of my senses^-and for the space of three days knew not 
where 1 was. When my reason returned, I found I had been constantly 
attended by Mr. Willshire, and generally kept in my room, though he 
would sometimes persuade me to walk in the gallery with him, and 
used every means in his power to restore and compose my bewildered 
senses : that 1 had remained continually bathed in tears, and shud- 
dering at the sight of every human being, fearing I should again be 
carried into slavery. 1 had slunk into the darkest corner of my room ; 
but though insensible, 1 seemed to know the worth of my friend and 
deliverer, and would agree to, and comply with his advice and 
directions. 

In the mean time, this most estimable and noble minded young man, 
had neither spared pains nor expense in procuring for us every com- 
fort, and in administering, with his own hands, night and day, such relief 
and refreshment as our late severe sufferings and present debility 
required. He had sent off persons on mules to the vicinity of the city 
of Morocco, more than one hundred miles, and procured some of the 
most delicious fruits that country can produce, such as dates, figs, 
grapes, pomegranates, &c. He gave us for drink the best of wines, 
and I again began to have an appetite for my food, which was prepared 
with the greatest care. My men were furnished with shirts, trowsers, 
and jackets, and being fed with the most nourishing soups and other 
kinds of food, gained a considerable degree of strength. Captain 
Wallace, of the English brig Pilot, then being in the port, furnished 
us with some pork, split peas, and potatoes, and seemed very friendly. 
Clark and Burns were but the skeletons of men : Mr. Savage and 
Horace were nearly as much reduced, but not having'been diseased in 
so greata degree, they were consequently stronger. Many of my bones 
had appeared white and transparent through their thin and grisly co- 
vering, like dry bones, when on the desart \ but they were now nearly 
covered again with skin, though we still might with some reason be 
termed the dried skeletons of Moorish slaves. At the instance of Mr. 
Willshire I was weighed, and fell short of ninety pounds, though my 
usual weight for the last ten years had been over two hundred ana 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 155 

forty pounds : the weight of my companions was less than 1 dare to 
mention. 

The sight of my face in a glass called to my recollection all the try- 
ing scenes I had passed through since my shipwreck. I could con- 
template with pleasure and gratitude the power, and wisdom, of the 
Supreme Being, as well as his mercy and unbounded goodness. I 
could plainly discover that the train of events which, in my former life, 
I had always considered as great misfortunes, had been directed by 
unerring wisdom, and had fitted me for running the circle marked out 
by the Omnipotent. When 1 studied the French and Spanish lan- 
guages, I did it from expectations of future gain in a commercial point 
of view. All the exertions I had hitherto made to become acquainted 
with foreign languages, and to store my mind with learning and a 
knowledge of mankind, had procured for me no wealth ; without which 
acquirement a man is generally considered on the stage of the world 
as a very insignificant creature, that may be kicked off or trampled 
upon by the pampered worms of his species, who sport around him 
with all the upstart pride of (in many instances) ill-gotten treasure. I 
had been cheated and swindled out of property bj those whom I con- 
sidered my friends ; yet my mind was formed for friendship ; — I do 
not speak of this in the way of boasting. My hand had never been 
slack in relieving the distresses of my fellow men whenever 1 had the 
power, in the different countries where I had been ; but I had almost 
become a stoic, and had very nearly concluded, that disinterested 
friendship and benevolence, out of the circle of a man's own family, 
was not to be found ; that the virtuous man, if poor, was not only 
despised, by his more fortunate fellow creatures, but forsaken almost 
by rrovidence itself. 1 now, however, had positive proof to the con- 
trary of some of those hasty and ill-founded opinions ; and I clearly 
saw that 1 had only been tutored in the school of adversity, in order 
that 1 might be prepared for fulfilling the purpose for which 1 had been 
created. 

In the midst of those reflections, 1 received, by a courier from Con- 
sul General Simpson, at Tangier, to Mr. VVillshire, the following let- 
ter : — it speaks the soul of the writer and needs no comment. 

Gibraltar, 13th November, 1815. 

MY DEAR RILEY, 

1 will not waste a moment by unnecessary preamble. 1 have wrote 
to Mr. VVillshire, that your draft on me for twelve hundred dollars, or 
more, shall be duly paid for the obtainment of your liberty, and those 
with you. I have sent him two double barrelled guns to meet his 
promise to the Moor. — In a short time after the receipt of this, I hope 
to have the happiness to take you by the hand under my roof again. 
You will come here by the way of Tangier. Your assured friend, 

Horatio Sprague. 

My sensations on reading this letter, and on seeing that written by 
Mr. Sprague to Mr. VVillshire, 1 must leave to the reader to imagire, 
and only observe that my acquaintance with that gentleman was but 
very slight, (of about ten days,) while 1 remained at Gibraltar, imme- 
diately before my disaster — It was sufficient for him to know his 



156 

fellow creatures were in distress, and that it was in his power to relieve 
thera. Mr. Sprague is a native of Boston, the capital of the state of 
Massachusetts, and had established himself as a respectable merchant 
in Gibraltar a-little before the breaking out of the late war. In the 
early part of that wa*r a number of American vessels were despatched 
by individuals with cargoes of provisions, &c. for Spain and Portu- 
gal — these vessels were navigated under enemies' licenses, but from 
some cause or other, many of them were seized on the ocean by 
British ships of war, and conducted to Gibraltar, where both the vessels 
and their cargoes were condemned, and their crews turned adrift in 
the streets without a cent of money in their pockets, and left to the 
mercy of the elements. Mr. Gavino,the American consul, would not 
act in their behalf, because (as he stated) his functions had ceased by 
reason of the war ; — when this humane and generous gentleman took 
them under his protection, hired an old vessel for them to live in, fur- 
nished them with provisions and other necessaries and comforts for 
the term of one whole year or upwards, and in this manner supported 
for the greater part of that time as many as one hundred and fifty 
men : this he did from his own purse, and out of pure philanthropy : 
of this I was informed by Mr. Charles Moore, of Philadelphia, and 
other gentlemeu of respectability and^veracity. He also furnished and 
sent a considerable sum of money to Algiers, which bought from hard 
labour our unfortunate countrymen, comprising the officers and crew 

of the brig , Captain Smith, of Boston, who were made slaves by 

that regency ; in this he was assisted by Messrs. Charles H. Hall & 
Co. merchants at Cadiz, and several other worthy and respectable 
Americans ; but the loss of the United States' sloop of war the Eper- 
vier, (this ship was spoken with, when homeward bound, by a Genoese 
schooner eighty miles from Mogadore, all well, and was probably 
wrecked and destroyed, on the iron bound coast of South Barbiry,) 
having on board all the redeemed slaves after the peace with Algiers, 
rendered it impossible for them to communicate their sense of grati- 
tude for Mr. Sprague's humanity. These facts were stated to me by 
several respectable individuals in Gibraltar, and can be fully authen 
ticated. 

After my mind had been again tranquillized by a refreshing night's 
sleep, my reflections returned to my providential preservation. When 
my vessel was wrecked, I was endued with presence of mind, judg- 
ment, and prudence, whereby my whole crew was saved in the first 
instance, and safely landed. When 1 was seized on afterwards by the 
Arabs, a superior intelligence suddenly suggested to my mind a stra- 
tagem by which my life was saved, thougli one of my unfortunate 
companions was sacrificed to glut the brutal rage of the natives, whilst 
1 was conducted to the wreck in safety through a tremendous surf that 
rolled over me every instant. The ways of Providence were next 
traced out to my wondering eyes in the smoothing down of the sea, 
so that we were enabled to row our shattered boat out with safety to 
the ocean, and in our preservation in an open boat amidst, violent gales 
of wind, though he'r timbers and planks seemed only to hold together 
by the pressure of the sea acting upon their outer side. When des- 
titute of provisions and water, worn down with privations and fatigues, 
we were again landed on the coast, carried on the top of a dreadfm 



SUFFERINGS IN AFRICA. 157 

wave over the heads of craggy rocks thai must have dashed us and our 
boat to atoms, without a particular divine protection* We were next 
forced to climb over the most formidable precipices and obstructions, 
before it was possible to arrive on the dreary desart above us : these 
delays were necessary to bring us, at a proper time, within sight of 
fires kindled by Arabs, who had arrived there that day, (and who were 
the first, as I was afterwards informed, who had been there to water 
their camels within the last thirty days,) and who were providentially 
sent to save our lives, as we could not have existed a day longer with- 
out drink. Though my skin was burned off by the sun's rays, and 
myself given a slave to those wandering wretches — -the same Almighty 
power still preserved my life, endowed me with intelligence to com- 
prehend a language I had never before heard spoken, and enabled me 
to make myself understood by that people, and in some degree re- 
spected. Sidi Hamet (though a thievish Arab) had been sent from 
the confines of the Moorish empire before I left Gibraltar : he was 
conducted by the same unerring wisdom to my master's tent ; his 
heart was softened at the recital of my distresses, and instead of trading 
in the article of ostrich feathers, (which was his whole business there, 
as he believed,) he was persuaded by a wretched naked skeleton of a 
slave, merely retaining the glimmering of the vital spark, against his 
own judgment, and whilst directly and strenuously opposed by his 
brother and partner, who insisted that if even I told the truth, and had 
a friend in Morocco to purchase me on my arrival there, yet my death 
must certainly happen long before it was possible to get me to that 
place : yet this same brother, one of the most barbarous of men, was 
forced, though against his will, to agree, and to lend the aid of his 
property in effecting the purchase, and to exert himself to support and 
to defend myself and four companions, through the desart, whilst all 
his schemes for selling and separating us had constantly proved abor- 
tive. A Spanish barque had been destroyed by the natives on the 
coast of Suse, north of Cape Nun, and nineteen men had been either 
massacred by the natives, or were then groaning out a miserable exis- 
tence in the worst kind of barbarian slavery — this event had furnished 
a piece of paper on which 1 wrote the note, at a venture, to Mogadore : 
my note fell into the hands of a perfect stranger, whose name I had 
never even heard of, and who was as ignorant of mine. This excellent 
young man was touched by the same power who had hitherto protect- 
ed me : he agreed to pay the sum demanded without reflection, though 
his utter ruin might have been the consequence, trusting implicitly to 
the written word of a wretched naked slave ; a person of whom he 
had no knowledge, and who was then three hundred miles distant, 
and even out of the power of the government that protected him; and 
his impatience to relieve our distresses was so great, that he instantly 
paid the money demanded by my master, on his simply agreeing to 
stay in Swearaii (Mogadore) until we came up, but withoutthe power 
to keep him one instant if lie chose to go away ; nor would he allow 
time to the magnanimous Moor, who kindly volunteered to go down 
after us. at the imminent risk of his life, scarcely to take leave of his 
family : mounting him on his own mule, and begging him to hurry on, 
day and night, until he reached us, and to spare neither pains or ex- 
pense in fetching us to Mogadore. 



158 CAPTAIN RILES" S NARRATIVE. 

I cannot here omit mentioning the manner in which Mr. Willshire 
got my first note. Sidi Hamet (the bearer of it) was one of those 
Arabs belonging to a tribe, surnamed by the Moors, sons of lions, on 
account of their unconquerable spirit; when he came to the gate of 
Swearah, or Mogadore, he providentially was met by Rais bel Cos- 
sim, who, though a perfect stranger, asked him, "From whence come 
you, son of a lion?" Upon which Sidi Hamet stopped, and made 
known his business. This Mooi was the only one which Mr. Willshire 
placed confidence in, or treated as a friend : he conducted Sidi Hamet 
to Mr. Willshire's house, and offered to leave his family, who were 
then sick, and to do his utmost to restore me and my men to liberty. 
Providence had also caused us to be stopped at Stuka, where we had 
time to recover, in part, from our illness, and to gain strength enough 
to support us through the remainder of our journey ; had turned the 
contrivances and wisdom of Sheick Ali into nothingness, and finally 
provided for us such a friend as Mr. Sprague of Gibraltar, one of the 
most feeling and best of men. 

This providential chain of events, thus planned and executed, even 
against the will of the principal agents employed, filled my mind with 
unutterable thankfulness and wonder at the wisdom, the goodness, and 
the mercy of God towards me; and the emotions which these reflec- 
tions excited, kept me almost constantly batned in tears for the greatest 
part of a month. When 1 retired to rest, and sleep had closed my 
eyes, my mind still retaining the strong impression of my past suffer 
ings, made them the subjects of my dreams. I used to rise in my 
sleep, and think 1 was driving camels up and down the sandy hills near 
the desart, or along the craggy steeps of Morocco ; obeying my mas- 
ter's orders in putting on the fetters, or beckets, on the legs and knees 
of his camels, and in the midst of my agonizing toils and heart-sick- 
ening anxieties, while groping about my room, 1 would hit my head 
against something, which would startle and awaken me: then I would 
throw myself on my bed again to sleep, and dream, and act over sim- 
ilar scenes. Fearing 1 should get out of my chamber and injure 
myself in my sleep, I always locked the door, and hid the key 
before I went to bed. There was a grating to the windows of the 
apartments 1 slept in, and 1 often awoke and found myself trying to 
get out. My mind at length became more composed and serene, as 
my strength increased, and by the first of December 1 was able to ride 
out, and to walk about the city. Mr. Willshire, whose whole attention 
had been shown to me and my companions, tried every means to 
divert my mind from the subject of my reflections, and would ride 
out with me to a garden two miles out of the city, accompanied by a 
Moor, where we passed away many pleasant hours, which were en- 
deared by every feeling and sentiment of gratitude and esteem on 
the one part, and of generous iympathy and godlike benevolence on 
the other. 

In this garden stood a venerable fig tree, whose body and boughs 
were covered with the names, and initials of the names, of almost all 
the Europeans and Americans who had visited Mogadore, carved out 
w ith knives in the thick bark, accompanied with the dates of their seve- 
ral visits, &c. This was a kind of monument I delighted to examine ; 
it seemed to say that Mogadore was once a flourishing city, when AM 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 159 

commerce was fostered by the Moorish government; but now, that 
superstition, fanaticism, and tyranny bear sway, they have swept away, 
with their pernicious breath, the whole wealth of its once industrious 
and highly favoured inhabitants ; — have driven the foreigner from their 
shores, and it seems as if the curse of Heaven had fallen on the whole 
land, for in spite of all the exertions of its cultivators, and the fertility 
of the soil, severe droughts, and the ravages of the locusts, have fre- 
quently caused a famine in that country, from whence wheat was ex- 
ported in immense quantities but a few years past for Spain and Por- 
tugal, at half a dollar per bushel. Not a single bushel had been ship- 
ped for some years past, and at this time none was to be had at any 
price, except now and then a few bags, brought from the province of 
Duquelia, which could only be purchased by the most wealthy : the 
others were provided with scanty portions of barley, of which they 
made their cous-koo-soo. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

The author's motives for requesting of, and writing down, his formei 
master's narrative of Travels on the JJesart when in Mogadore, toge- 
ther loith Sidi Hamefs narrative of a journey across the great Desart 
to Tombuctoo, and back again to Widnoon, with a caravan. 

From the time 1 had a prospect of being redeemed from slavery, I 
had determined (if that should ever happen) to write an account of 
our sufferings, which I considered greater than had ever fallen to the 
lot of man, and also to embody such observations as I had been ena- 
bled to make while a slave, in travelling the great desart, &c. &c. for 
the satisfaction of my family and the friends of my fellow sufferers. 
My late master was yet in Mogadore, for he remained in the house of 
my deliverer about two weeks after our arrival, and he now mentioned 
to me, that he and his brother had been three times to Tombuctoo (as 
he had before informed Mr. Willshire) with caravans, and had crossed 
the desart in almost every direction. I felt interested in making 
every inquiry that could suggest itself to my mind, respecting the face 
and the extent of the desart and the countries south of it : and although 
1 was convinced, by my own observations, that both he and his bro- 
ther, probably in common with the Arabs of the desart, knew the 
courses they steered, notwithstanding they had no compass or any other 
instrument to direct them in their journeys, yet wishing to be fully 
satisfied in this particular, I took them up upon the roof of the house 
(which was flat and terraced with stones laid in lime cement, and 
smooth like a floor) one clear evening, and then told them that 1 
wanted to know by what means they were enabled to find their way 
across the trackless desart. Sidi Unmet immediately [jointed out to 
me the north or polar star, and the <;reat bear, and told me the Arabic 
names of the principal fixed stars, hs well as of the planets, then visi 
tie in the firmament, and his manner of steering and reckoning time 
by the mea.is of them. His correct observations on the stars, per- 
fectly astonished me : he appeared to be much better acquainted with 



160 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

the motions of the heavenly bodies than 1 was, who had made it my study 
for a great many years, and navigated to many parts of he globe by 
their assistance. To convince me that he knew the cardinal points, 
he laid two small sticks across at right angles, one poin nig directly 
towards the polar star — he next placed two others across, dividing the 
circle into eighths, and then in like manner into sixteenths, so that 1 
was satisfied he knew the requisite divisions of the compass : and 
on the next day 1 requested him to give me a narrative ol his journey- 
ings on, and across the desart, with which he very read'W complied, 
and related as follows ; — while 1 sat in my room with pen, ink, and 
paper, and noted it down, having the Moor Bel Mooden to interpret 
and explain to me in Spanish such parts of the narrative as 1 did not 
perfectly comprehend in Arabic. 1 give it to the readei as nearly as 
possible in the words of the narrator, and do not hold myself respon- 
sible for Sidi Hamet's correctness, or his veracity, though, for my own 
part I have no doubt he meant to, and did tell the truth as near as his 
recollection served him ; and as he had a retentive memory, and the 
incidents related were calculated to impress themselves strongly on 
his intelligent mind, I have no doubt that his whole narrative is sub- 
stantially true. 

SECTION I. 

Sidi HameVs narrative of a journey from Widnoon across the great 
Desart to Tombuctoo, and back again to Widnoon. 

"The first time 1 set out to cross the great desart, was several 
years ago, (about nine or ten,) being in the vicinity of Widnoon, where 
I had the year before been married to the daughter of Sheick Ali, (a 
beautiful woman, who is now my wife, and has two fine boys and one 
girl.) I, with my brother Seid, joined the caravan at Widnoon, by the 
advice of Sheick Ali: we had four camels loaded with haicks and 
some other goods. The whole caravan consisted o{ about three 
thousand camels and eight hundred men, with goods of almost every 
kind that are sold in Morocco. The men were all armed with good 
muskets and scimitars, and the whole under the command of Sheick 
ben Soleyman of Waldeleim, (Woled Deleim on the map,) with four 
competent guides. We set out from Widnoon in Suse, which is a 
great place of trade, late in the fall of the year, and travelled six days 
to the west, when we came to the last mountain — there we stopped 
ten days, and let our camels feed on the bushes, while half the men 
were employed in getting wood from the mountain, and burning it 
into charcoal, which we put into bags, as it was light, and laid it on 
the camels over the other goods ; then setting off for the desart, we 
mounted upon its level, which is a great deal higher than the country 
near it to the north, and travelled four days on the hard level ; we 
then passed amongst the high sand hills, which you saw when we 
were coming up, in order that we might keep along by the great sea, 
so as to be sure of finding water: we travelled through and among 
these great mountains of sand, which were then very bad -to pass, 
because the wind blew so hard we could scarcely keep together, being 
almost covered up by the flying sand : it took us six days to get through 
them; after which the ground was smooth, and almost as hard as the 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 16! 

floor of a house, for ten days more, when we came to a watering place, 
called Bibhh; there we watered our camels, for they were very thirsty, 
and eight of them had died and served us for food. We stopped at 
that great well seven days, and afterwards kept on our journey to the 
S. W. twenty days, to another well, called Kibir Jibl, but there wag 
no water in it, and we were obliged to go six days' journey to the sea 
coast, where there was a well close to the sea, the water of which well 
was very black and salt: here we were forced to unload the camels, 
and get them down the bank to the water, and after drinking, they 
yielded us some milk, which had been almost dried up before: we 
found, however, nothing for them to feed on, and had been obliged to 
give them of the coals to eat once a day for many days : this kept 
them alive, but it made their milk almost as black as the coals them- 
selves ; yet it was good, and we were glad to get it. It took up six 
days to water the whole of them, when we set out again and travelled 
near the sea, where we found wells about every ten days, like the one 
we had already visited, but very few green leaves on the little bushes, 
in the few small valleys we saw ; for no rain had fallen for a great 
while on that part of the desart. 

"After a journey of four moons, we came to the south part of the 
desart, and went down into the country of Soudan, where we found a 
little stream of good running water, and some bushes, and grass, and 
a very large tribe of Btssebes Arabs, (Libdessebas on the map,) who 
had plenty of barley and maize or Indian corn, of which we bought 
some and made bread, and stopped here one moon. We lost on the 
desart more than three hundred camels, which died of fatigue, and 
the want of water and food, but not one man. All the tribes of Arabs 
we came near, took their stuff on their camels, and rode away as fast 
as they could, so as not to be robbed, and we did not find any party 
strong enough to attack us, although we saw a great many tribes, but 
they were very poor on the Zaharah, or great desart." 1 then asked 
him how the face of the desart looked in general, as he passed over it, 
taking the whole together, or if there was any material difference in 
different parts of it, near the sea coast? .to which he answered : — 

"The whole extent of the desart near the sea coast, is like that we 
came over in bringing you up here, except in one place, where we 
travelled for nearly one moon without meeting with so much as a val- 
ley with green bushes in it for the camels to feed on : the whole i? a 
trackless waste. Close by the sea we were obliged to pass mountains 
of sand that was blown up from the shore before the wind, but the 
guides always went before us, to show which way the caravan must 
go, and to find a place to stop in. Our camels had eaten up all the 
coals we had laid upon them before we got off the desart, and two of 
them had died, so that my brother and I had only two remaining, but 
we kept all our goods. After we had rested one moon, and got our 
camels recruited, we set off to the east on the border of the desart, 
cft>9e bv the low country, with mountains in Sight to the south, most 
of the way, and in two moons more we came near Tombuc'oo, where 
we stopped in a deep valley witli the caravan, and went every day close 
to the strong walls of the city with our goods (but without our guns) 
to trade them oif with the negroes, who had ^.mn, and gold rings, ana 
gold powder and great teeth, such as are sold in Swearah, (i. e. ele 



162 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

phant's teeth,) and slaves, and fine turbans : they had p/enty of cows, 
and asses, and a few sheep, and barley, corn, and rice : but the little 
river that runs close to the wall on the west, was quite dry, and all 
the people in the city were obliged to fetch water for themselves to 
drink, with asses, from the great river south of the city, (about one 
hour's ride on a camel,) and we were forced to go there to water oui 
camels, and get our drink. 

" After staying near Tombuctoo one moon and a half, the season 
being far advanced, we set out again for Widnoon. I had not been 
in the city all the time we stopped here, because I was chosen cap- 
tain of two hundred men that kept guard all the time about the caravan, 
to keep off the thievish Arabs and the bands of negroes that were 
hovering around us to carry off our camels, if any of them strayed 
away : but we lost only twenty during our whole stay at Tombuctoo, 
and the Sheick gave me for my trouble a fine young negro girl slave, 
which I carried home with me, and she now lives with my wife. We 
set out for home from Tombuctoo, in the month of Rhamadan, after 
the feast, and went back by the same route we had come — that is to 
say, we went first to the west one moon, along the border of the desart. 
We durst not take any thing without paying for it, because we were 
afraid of the inhabitants, who were a mixture of Arabs and negroes, 
and all of them Mohammedans, but very bad men : they had also 
many white men slaves. I saw sixteen or eighteen myself, and a 
great many blacks. These true believers have very fine horses, and 
they go south to the country of the rivers, and there they attack and 
take towns, and bring away all the negroes for slaves, if they will not 
believe in the prophet of God ; and carry off all their cattle, rice, and 
corn, and burn their houses ; but if they will adopt the true faith, they 
are then exempt from slavery, and their houses are spared, upon their 
surrendering up one half of their cattle, and half of their rice and corn ; 
because, they say, God has delivered their enemies into their hands. 
The negroes live in small towns, fenced in with reeds or bushes, and 
sometimes with stones, but the Arabs live only in tents, and can move 
off in a minute on their horses, whilst their wives and children ride on 
camels and asses. Before we struck off N. W. on the desart for the 
sea coast, we stopped in the hill country and fatted our camels, and 
burned wood to make charcoal to carry with us : we were encamped 
on the bank of a little river, one day's journey from a large town of 
negroes, named Jathroiv. 1 did not go to it, but the Sheick went and 
bought some corn and barley, and forty oxen for our provisions. 

" After we had prepared our coals, and laid in our provisions, we 
went up on to the level desart, and set off to the N. W. and in three 
moons and a half more we reached Widnoon again, having been gone 
almost a year and a half. We had lost about five hundred camels, 
that either died, or were killed to give us meat ; and while we stayed at 
Tombuctoo, and were coming home, thirty-four of our men had died, 
and we lost eighty slaves." 1 asked him what were the goods they 
carried down at that time ? he answered : — 

" We had about one hundred camels loaded with iron and knives, 
and two hundred with salt; all the others carried haicks, and blue and 
white cloth, and amber, and tobacco, and silk handkerchiefs, and chilly 
weed, and spices, and a great many other articles. Seid and myself 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 163 

had lost two of our camels, but had got two negro slaves, and some gold 
dust, worth six camels, and ornaments for our wives; but Sheick Ali 
was not satisfied because I did not give him two slaves ; so that he made 
war against me, and battered down my town which 1 built, (it was but 
a small one;) and took away all I had, together with my wife, because 
he said 1 was a bad man, and he was stronger than me : 1 myself, 
however, escaped, and after one year I asked him for my wife again, 
and he gave her to me with all he had taken, for he loved his daugh- 
ter : but I had no house, so I removed into the sultan's dominions, 
near the city of Morocco, close by the Atlas mountains, and lived 
there with my father and brothers two years without going forth to 
trade." 

SECTION II. 

Sidi Harriet sets out on another journey for Tombuctoo — The caravan is 
mostly destroyed for want of water, by drifting sand, and by mutiny, 
fyc. — The few that escape get to the south of the Desart. 

" About that time one of our party, when we first went to Tom- 
buctoo, named bel Moese, came to see me — he was going to join the 
caravan at Widnoon again, and persuaded Seid and me to go with 
him ; so we bought eight camels between us, and sold off our cattle 
and sheep, and bought goods and powder, and went with him to Wid- 
noon, and joined the caravan. Sheick Ali came to meet me like a 
friend, and gave me two camels laden with barley, and wished me a 
safe journey. The Sheick who was chosen by all the people to com- 
mand the caravan, was named Sidi Ishrel ; he was the friend of Sidi 
Ishem, who owned almost one half of the whole caravan, and we set 
out from Widnoon with about four thousand camels, and more than 
one thousand men, all well armed. We laid in an abundant store of 
barley, and had a great many milch camels, and it was determined to 
go south across the desart, nearly on a straight course for Tombuc- 
too, by the way the great caravans generally travelled : though there 
had been several of them destroyed on that route, that is to say, one 
within every ten or twelve years. We went to the south, around the 
bottom of the great Atlas mountains, six days' journey ; then we stop- 
ped close by it, and cut wood and burned coals for the camels, for the 
caravans never attempt to cross the desart without this article : four 
hundred camels out of the number were loaded with provisions and 
and water for the journey, and after having rested ten days, and given 
the camels plenty of drink, we went up on the desart and steered of] 
southeasterly. — We travelled along, and met with no sand for fifteen 
days ; it was all a smooth surface, baked together so hard that a load- 
ed camel could not make a track on it to be seen : we saw no tracks 
to guide us, and kept our course by the stars, and sun, and moon. We 
found only one spot in all that time where our camels could satisfy 
their appetites by eating the shrubs in a shallow valley, but the great 
well in it was filled up with stones and sand, so we could procure no 
water there ; at the end of fifteen days, however, we came to a very 
fine deep valley, with twenty wells in it ; but we found water in only 
six of them, because the desart was very dry : here we watered all our 
r.amels, artd replenished our booties or skins, and having rested seven 



164 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

days, we departed for the southeastward, our camels being well fi^ed 
with leaves and thorn bushes. 

" We travelled along three days on the hard sand, and then arrived 
among innumerable drifts of fine loose sand ; not such coarse sand as 
you saw near the sea; it was as fine as the dust on a path, or in a 
house, and the camels' feet sunk in it every step up to their knees : 
after travelling amongst this sand (which in the day-time was almost 
as hot as coals of fire) six days, there began to blow a fierce wind from 
the southeast, called the wind of the desart, bringing death and de- 
struction with it : we could not advance nor retreat, so we took the 
loading from off our camels, and piled it in one great heap, and made 
the camels lie down. Tlie dust flew so thick that we could not see 
each other nor our camels, and were scarcely able to breathe — so we 
laid down with our faces in the dust, and cried aloud with once voice 
to God — ' Great and merciful God, spare our lives !' but the wind 
blew dreadfully for the space of two days, and we were obliged to 
move ourselves whenever the sand got so heavy on us that it shut out 
.-)!! the air, and prevented us from breathing ; but at length it pleased 
the most High to hear our supplications : the wind ceased to blow ; 
all was still again, and we crawled out of the sand that had buried us 
for so long a time, but not all, for when the company was numbered, 
three hundred were missing — all that were left having joined in thanks 
to God for his mercy in sparing our lives ; — we then proceeded to dig 
out the camels from the sand that had buried their bodies, which, 
together with the re-loading of them, took us two daj's. About two 
nundred of them were dead — there was no green thing to be seen, and 
we were obliged to give the camels a little water from the skins, to 
wash their parched throats with, and some charcoal to eat : then we 
kept on twenty-four days as fast as we could through the dry, deep, 
and hot sand, without finding any green bushes worth noticing forour 
camels to eat, when we came to a famous valley and watering place, 
called Haherah. All our camels were almost expiring, and could not 
carry the whole of their loads ; so we threw away a great deal of the 
salt before we got to Haherah, where we intended to stop twenty days 
to recruit our beasts, but who can conceive our disappointment and 
distress, when we found there was no water in any of the wells of this 
great valley : not one drop of rain had fallen there for the last year. 
The caravan, that amounted to upwards of one thousand men and 
four thousand camels when we set out, was already reduced to about 
six hundred men, and thirty-five hundred camels. The authority of 
Sheick Ishrel could now scarcely restrain those almost desperate men; 
every one was eager to save his own life and property, and separately 
sought the means of relief by running about the valley in a desultory 
manner, looking for water; this disorder continued for two days, when 
being convinced that nothing could be done without union, they be- 
came obedient, and joined together in great numbers in digging out 
the different wells. After digging five days without the smallest sign 
of water, all subordination was entirely at an end. The Sheick, who 
was a wise and a prudent man, advised and insisted that all the camels 
should be killed but three hundred, so that the little water found in 
thf»rn, together with their blood, might keep the rest alive, as well as 
ill iii« men, until, by the aid of Providence, they should leach some 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 165 

place where they could find water ; but the company would not hear* 
ken to this advice, though the best that could possibly be given ; no 
one being w Uing to have his own property sacrificed. Sheick Ishrel, 
however, d *-ected thirty of the oldest and most judicious men (o pick 
out the threv. hundred camels that were to be spared, who accotdmgly 
selected thi most vigorous ; but when they began to kill the others, a 
most furious quarrel and horrible batt'e commenced. The Sheick, 
though a mm of God, was killed in a moment — two or three hundred 
more were butchered by each other in the course of that dreadful 
day ; and the blood of the slain was drank to allay the thirst of those 
who shed it. Seid was badly wounded with a dagger in his arm. 
About five hundred camels were killed this day; and the others drank 
the water fnm their bodies and also their blond. 

"Fearing there would be no end to this bloody conflict until all 
had perisht 1, and as I had been a captain in the other caravan, and 
knew how to steer a course on the desart ; and as both Seid and my- 
self were vt -y strong men, we killed four out of six of our own camels 
that remained, in the first part of the night, and gave their water and 
blood to the other two: we saved a small package of goods, and some 
barley, and some meat, and persuaded thirty of our friends privately to 
do as we had done, and join us, for we meant to set off that night. 
This was ; greed on, for to stay there was certain death, and to go 
back was no less so. We were all ready about midnight, and without 
making an) noise, we moved off with our company of thirty men and 
thirty-two camels. The night was very cloudy and dark, and it thun- 
dered at a l ^stance, as if the Almighty was angry with us for fighting 
together; hut there was no rain. We went towards the southwest, in 
the hope 0/ reaching Tishlah, another watering place, before our 
camels diel : the desart was dry and hard, and as we went along, we 
found only now and then a little hollow, with a few prickly shrubs in 
it : these tl e camels devoured as we passed among them ; but many 
died, so that on the twelfth day we had only eighteen camels left; 
when the g eat God saved our lives by sending a tempest of rain, but 
he thundered so as to make the whole earth tremble, because of our 
sins, and w » all fell upon our faces and implored his forgiveness. The 
rain that fall upon the ground gave plenty of water to our camels, 
atul we fih^d thirty skins with it; when we steered to the south to- 
wards the borders of the desart. Nine of our company had died, and 
niRny of our camels, before we went down from the desart to the cul- 
tivated Ian 1, and we then made to the south towards a little river of 
fresh water, to which some Arabs whom we met with directed us, after 
they had fi st given us some rice and some milk, for all our milch ca- 
mels had died on the desart." 

SECTION III. 

Sidi Harriet's journeyinsrs — His arrival on the banks of the river called 
by the ru tives Gozen-Zair, and at Tombuctoo — Description of that 
city — Its commerce, wealth, and inhabitants . 

" Those of us who had escaped with our lives from the desart, only 
twenty-ont in number, with twelve camels, out of a caravan of one 
thousand men and four thousand camels, stopped near a small town. 



166 

called Wabilt, on the bank of a river about half as broad as from the 
city of Mogadore to the island, that is to say, fifty yards We had no 
Drovisions, but the negroes seeing us in distress, came out and gave 
us some meat, and bread made of barley-corn : here we remained 
ten days to recruit ourselves and our camels, which were just alive. 
The river on whose bank we remained, was called by thoje who spoke 
in Arabic, el Woed Tenij, and by the negroes, Gozen-Zair. A very 
high ridge of mountains, great like Atlas seen from Suse, (but not 
capped with snow,) lie to the southwestward, and at a distance. After 
resting ourselves and our camels for ten days, we set forward for Tom- 
buctoo. We travelled for four days to the eastward through Soudan, 
a hilly country, but of a very rich soil, and much of it cultivated with 
the hoe." 1 then asked him what he meant by Soudan ? and he said, 
" The whole country south of the great desart from the great ocean, 
a great way east, and including the" district of Tombuctoo, is called 
by the Arabs and Moors, Soudan ; of which Tombuctoo is the capi- 
tal. Having watered our camels again, and finding the hill country 
tedious to get through, by reason of the trees, we bought some bar- 
ley-corn, and killed two cows, and went northward to the border of 
the desart, and travelled on to the eastward for eight days, when we 
fell in with the great path used by the caravans, and in two days more 
came near to the walls of Tombuctoo. We had seen a great many ne- 
groes near the river : they live in small towns, fenced in with large 
reeds, to keep off enemies and the wild beasts in the night ; they dwell 
in small round huts made with cane standing upright, are covered 
with the same materials, and daubed with mud, to fill up the openings 
between them. The negroes were afraid of us when we came near 
their little towns, and those who were outside ran in and blocked up 
the passage in a minute ; but finding we did not come to rob them, 
as the large companies of Arabs often do, but that we were poor and 
hungry, they were willing to exchange "barley-corn and meat for some 
of our goods. Nearly all the few things we had were expended to 
keep us alive until we came near Tombuctoo. The king and the peo- 
ple of that city had been looking out for the caravan from W id noon 
for two moons, but not one soul had arrived before us, and we were 
permitted to go into that city after delivering up our guns, powder, and 
lead, to the king's officers to keep until we should wish to depart. 
Tombuctoo is a very large city, five times as great as Swearah : it is 
built on a level plain, surrounded on all sides by hills, except on the 
south, where the plain continues to the bank of the same river we had 
been to before, which is wide and deep, and runs to the east ; for we 
were obliged to go to it to water our camels, and here we saw many 
boats made of great trees, some with negroes in them paddling across 
the river. The city is strongly walled in with stone laid in clay, like 
the towns and houses in Suse, only a great deal thicker: the house ol 
the king is very large and high, like the largest house in Mogadore, 
but built of the same materials as the walls : there are a great many 
more houses in that city built of stone, with shops on one side, where 
they sell salt, and knives,, and blue cloth, and baicks, and an abun- 
dance of other things, with many gold ornaments. The inhabitants 
are blacks, and the chief is a very large and grey-headed old black 
man, who is called Shtgar, which means sultan, or king. The prin- 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 167 

t 

cipal part of the houses are made with large reeds, as thick as a man's 
arm, and stand upon their ?nds, and are covered with small reeds first, 
and l lien with the leaves of the date trees : they are round, and the tops 
come to a point 1! ke a heap of stones. Neither the Shegar nor his 
people are Moslemins, but there is a town divided off from the princi- 
pal one, in one corner, by a strong partition wall, and one gate to it, 
which leads from the main town, like the Jews' town, or JYlillah in 
Mogadore : all the Moors or Arabs who have liberty to come into 
Tombuctoo, are obliged to sleep in that part of it every night, or go 
out of the city entirely, and no stranger is allowed to enter thatMillah 
without leaving his knife with the gate-keeper ; but when he comes 
out in the morning it is restored to him. The people who live in that 
part are all Moslemin. The negroes, bad Arabs, and Moors, are all 
mixed together, and marry with each other, as if they were all of one 
colour : they have no property of consequence, except a few asses : 
their gate is shut and fastened every night at dark, and very strongly 
guarded both in the night and in the day time. The Shegar or king 
is always guarded by one hundred men on mules, armed with good 
guns, and one hundred men on foot with guns and long knives. He 
would net go into the Millah, and we only saw him four or five times 
in the two moons we stayed at Tombuctoo, waiting for the caravan : 
but it had perished on the desart — neither did the yearly caravan from 
Tunis and Tripoli arrive, for it had also been destroyed. The city of 
Tombuctoo is very rich, as well as very large ; it has four gates to it ; 
all of them are opened in the day time, but very strongly guarded and 
shut at night. 1 he negro women are very fat and handsome, and wear 
large round gold rings in their noses, and flat ones in their ears, and 
goid chains and amber beads about their necks, with images and white 
fish-bones, bent round, and the ends fastened together, hanging down 
between their breasts ; they have bracelets on their wrists and on their 
ankles, and go barefoot. I had bought a small snuff-box filled with 
snuff in Morocco, and showed it to the women in the principal street 
of Tombuctoo, which is very wide : there were a great many about 
me in a few minutes, and they insisted on buying my snuff and box ; 
one made me one offer, and another made me another, until one, who 
wore richer ornaments than the rest, told me, in broken Arabic, that 
she would take off all she had about her and give them to me for the 
box and its contents. I agreed to accept them, and she pulled off her 
nose-rings and ear-rings, all her neck chains with their ornaments, and 
the bracelets from her wrists and ankles, and gave them to me in ex- 
change for it : these ornaments would weigh more than a pound, and 
were made of solid gold at Tombuctoo, and I kept them through my 
whole journey afterwards, and carried them to my wife, who now wears 
a part of them. Tombuctoo carries on a great trade with all the cara- 
vans that come from Morrocco and the shores of the Mediterranean 
sea. From Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, &c. are brought all kinds of cloths, 
iron, salt, muskets, powder, and lead, swords or scimitars, tobacco, 
opium, spices, and perfumes, amber beads, and other trinkets, with a 
few other articles ; they carry back in return elephants' teeth, gold 
dust, and wrought gold, gum Senegal, ostrich feathers, veiy curiously 
worked turbans, and slaves ; a great many of the latter, and many 
other articles of less importance : the slaves are brought in from the 



168 

southwest, all strongly ironed, and are sold very cheap ; so that a good 
stout man may be bought for a haick, which costs in the empire of 
Morocco about two dollars. The caravans stop and encamp about 
two miles from the city, in a deep valley, and the negroes do not mo- 
lest them : they bring their merchandise near the walls of the city, 
where the inhabitants purchase all their goods in exchange for the 
above mentioned articles ; not more than fifty men from any one ca- 
ravan being allowed to enter the city at a time, and they must go out 
before others are permitted to enter. This city also carries on a great 
trade with Wassanah (a city far to the southeast) in all the articles that 
are brought to it by caravans, and get returns in slaves, elephants' 
teeth, gold, &c. The principal male inhabitants are clothed with blue 
cloth shirts, that reach from their shoulders down to their knees, and 
are very wide, and girt about their loins with a red and brown cotton 
sash or girdle: they also hang about their bodies pieces of different 
coloured cloth and silk handkerchiefs : the king is dressed in a white 
robe of a similar fashion, but covered with white and yellow gold and 
silver plates, that glitter in the sun ; he also has many other shining 
ornaments of shells and stones hanging about him, and wears a pair of 
breeches like the Moors and Barbary Jews, and has a kind of white 
turban on his head, pointing up, and strung with different kinds of 
ornaments ; his feet are covered with red Morocco shoes : he has no 
other weapon about him than a large white staff or sceptre, with a golden 
lion on the head of it, which he carries in his hand : his whole countenance 
is mild, and he seems to govern his subjects more like a father than a 
king. The whole of his officers and guards wear breeches that are 
generally dyed red, but sometimes they are white or blue ; all but the 
king go bareheaded. The poor people have only a single piece of blue or 
other cloth about them, and the slaves a breech cloth. The inhabi- 
tants in Tombuctoo are very numerous ; 1 think six times as many as 
in Swearah, besides the Arabs and other Moslemin or Mohammedans, 
hi their Millah, or separate town; which must contain nearly as many 
people as there are all together in Swearah." 

NOTE BY THE AUTHOR. 

Swearah or Mogadore contains about thirty-six thousand souls; 
that is, thirty thousand Moors and six thousand Jews: this may be a 
high estimation for Tombuctoo, making it two hundred and sixteen 
thousand inhabitants; yet considering the commercial importance of 
the place, and the fertility of the country around it, there can be no 
doubt but it contains a vast number of inhabitants; and 1 must also 
observe, that if it was a small town, and contained the riches attribu- 
ted to it, they would require a very strong force to prevent the Arabs 
from the desart, together with the caravans, from taking it by surprise 
or by storm. 

" The women are clothed in a light shirt or under dress, and over it 
a green, red, or blue covering, from their breasts to below their knees 
— the whole girt about their waists with a red girdle : they stain their 
cheeks and foreheads red or yellow on some occasions, and 'he mar- 
ried women wear a kind of hood on their heads, made o f blue cloth oi 
silk, and cotton handkerchiefs of different kinds and colours, and go 
barefooted. The king and peop'e of Tombuctoo do not fear and 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 169 

r/> ship' God, like the Moslemins, but like the people of Soudan they 
only pray one time in twenty-four hours, when they see the moon, 
and when she is not seen they do not pray at all : they cannot read or 
write, but are honest, and they circumcise their children like the Arabs : 
they have no mosques, but dance every night, as the Moors and Arabs 
pray. The Shegar or king had collected about one thousand slaves, 
some gums, elephants' teeth, gold dust, &c. to be ready for the yearly 
caravans ; but as three moons had passed away since the time they 
ought to have arrived, he gave them up for- lost, and concluded to send 
a caravan with part of his goods that came across the desart; viz. some 
salt, iron, clothes, &c. to a large city at a great distance from Tom- 
buctoo : and having formed a body of about three thousand men, well 
armed with muskets, long knives, and spears, and three thousand 
asses, and about two hundred camels, which were all loaded with 
heavy goods, such as iron, salt, tobacco, &c. he hired my brother 
Seid and myself, (with ten more of our companions,) to carry loads 
on our two camels to, Wassanah, for which .he was to give us, when 
we came back, two haicks each and some gold. As we were com- 
pletely in his power, we did not dare to refuse to go, and he put us 
under the care of his brother, whose name was Shelbaa, who had com- 
mand of the whole caravan. It was in the month of Shual ( ) 

when we departed from Tombuctoo for a place we had never before 
heard of. We had in the company about two hundred Moslemin, 
but the master of the caravan would not permit us Moslemin to keep 
our guns, for fear we should turn against him, if he was obliged to fight. 

SECTION IV. 

Sidi Harriet sets out for Wassanah — His arrival there, and description 
of that city, the country, and its. inhabitants ; of the great river 
which runs near it, and of his return to Tombuctoo — Containing 
also the author's geographical opinions, founded on this narrative, 
on the sources of the river Niger ; its length, course, and outlet, into 
the Atlantic ocean. 

"All being prepared, we went from Tombuctoo about two hours' 
ride, towards the south, to the bank of the river which is called at 
that place Zolibib, and was wider than from Mogadore to the island ; 
(i. e. about five hundred yards;) here was a miserable village built 
with canes, and mudded over: it had about two hundred small houses 
in it, but no walls. We then set off near the side of the river, and 
travelled on in a plain even country for six days, every day within 
sight of the river, which was on our right hand, and running the same 
way we travelled, and our course was a little to the south of east; 
when we came to a small town called Bimbinah, walled in with canes 
and thorn bushes, and stopped two days near it, to get provisions and 
rest our beasts: here the river turned more to the southeastward, 
because there was a very high mountain in sight to the eastward: we 
then went from the river side, and pursued oui journey more south- 
wardly, through a hilly and woody country, for fifteen days, when we 
came to the same river again. Every night we were obliged to make 
up large fires all around the caravan, to keep off the wild beasts, such 
as lions, tigers, and other animals, which made a dreadful howling 



170 

Here was a small town of black people belonging to another nation, 
who weie^ enemies to the king of Tombuctoo, but were friendly to 
the king of Wassanah ; and not being strong, they did not molest us, 
but furnished us with what corn we wanted, and twenty oxen. We 
saw a large number of armed black men, nearly naked, on the othei 
side of th« river, who seemed to be hostile, but they could not gel 
across to attack us : we also saw two very large towns, but walled in 
like the others we had passed. We stopped here and rested oui 
camels and asses five days, and then went onward again in about a S 
E. direction, winding as the river ran, for three days ; and then had 
to climb over a very high ridge of mountains, which took up six days, 
and when we were on the top of them, we could see a large chain ot 
high mountains to the westward ; those we passed were thickly covered 
with very large trees, and it was extremely difficult to get up and down 
them ; but we could not go any other way, for the river ran against 
the steep side of the mountain; so having gotten over them we came 
to the river's bank again, where it was very narrow and full of rocks, 
that dashed the water dreadfully ; then finding a- good path, we kept 
on to the S. E. winding a little every day, sometimes more to the 
east, then to the south again. We kept travelling this way for twelve 
days after leaving the mountains, during which time we had seen the 
river nearly every day on our right hand, and had passed a great many 
small streams that empty into it : it was now very wide and looked 
deep — here we saw many trees dug out hollow, like the boats at Tom- 
buctoo, and they were used to carry negroes across the river, and 
were pushed along with flat pieces of wood: we also saw the high 
mountains on the west side of the great river, very plainly. Having 
rested seven days at the ferrying place, we then travelled on for fifteen 
days, most of the time in sight of the river. When we came close to 
the walls of the city of Wassanah, the king came out with a great 
army, consisting of all his soldiers, to meet us, but finding we had 
only come to trade by the orders of, and with the goods of, his friend 
Shegar of Tombuctoo, he invited the chief, and the whole of the 
caravan, to abide within a square enclosure near the walls of the city : 
here we remained two moons, exchanging our goods for slaves, gold, 
elephants' teeth, &c. 

" The city of Wassanah is built near the bank of the river, which 
runs past it nearly south, between high mountains on both sides, 
though not very close to the river, which is so wide there that we 
could hardly see a man across it on the other side : the people of 
Tombuctoo call it Zolibib, and those of Wassanah call it Zadi. The 
walls of the city are very large, and made of great stones, laid up like 
the stone fences in the province of Hah Hah, in Morocco, but without 
any clay or mud amongst them: they are very thick and strong, and 
much higher than the walls of Tombuctoo. I was permitted to walk 
round them in company with six negroes, and it took me one whole 
day: the walls are built square, and nave one large gate on each side. 
The country all around the city is dug up, and has barley, corn, and 
other vegetables planted on it: and close by the side of the river all 
the land is covered with rice, and there are a great many oxen, and 
cows, and asses, belonging to the city, but no camels, nor horses, 
mules, sheep, nor goats ; but all about and in the city speckled fowls 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 171 

abound, and there are plenty of eggs. The people of the caravan 
were allowed to enter the city, but only twenty at a time, and they 
were all obliged to go out again before night. 

"We had been there more than a moon, when it came to my turn to 
go in. 1 found almost the whole of the ground inside of the walls was 
covered with huts made of stones piled up without clay, and some 
reeds, laid across the tops, covered over with the large leaves of the 
date or palm tree, or of another tree which looks very much like a 
date tree, and bears a fruit as large as my head, which has a white 
juice in it sweeter than milk ; the inside is hard, and very^ood to eat: 
the trees that bear this big fruit grow in abundance in this country, 
and their fruit is very plenty : their huts have narrow passages between 
them. The king or chief is called Oleeboo, which means, m the negro 
talk, good sultan : he is a very tall, and quite a young man : his 
house is very large, square, and high, made of stone, and the chinks 
filled up with something white like lime, but not so hard : they would 
not let me go into his house, and told me he had one hundred and 
fifty wives, or more, and ten thousand slavgs : he dresses in a white 
shirt, that looks like the one worn by Mr. Willshire, and long trowsers 
made like them you have on, and coloured like an orange.'' Those I 
then had on were common wide sailor trowsers. " He has over his 
shirt a caftan or robe with sleeves to it, made of red cloth, tied about 
with a girdle that goes from his breast to his hips, made cf silk hand- 
kerchiefs of all colours, and has slips of fine coloured silk tied round 
his arms and legs : his hair is also tied in small bunches, and he wears 
on his head a very high hat made of canes, coloured very handsomely, 
and adorned with fine feathers : he has sandals on his feet, bound up 
with gold chains, and a great gold chain over his shoulder, with a 
bunch of ornaments made of bright stones and shells, that dazzle the 
eyes, hanging on his breast, and wears a large dagger by his side in a 
gold case. He rides on the back of a huge beast, called Ilfement, 
three times as thick as my great camel, and a great deal higher, with 
a very long nose and great teeth, and almost as black as the negroes : 
he is so strong, that he can kill an hundred men in a minute when he 
is mad ; this is the animal that the teeth grow in wh'>ch we bring from 
Tombuctoo to VVidnoon, which you call elephants' teeth, and this was 
the only one of the animals I ever saw, but they told me these crea- 
tures were very plenty down the river from Wassanah." This answers 
to the description of, and no doubt is, the elephant. 

" The king of Wassanah has a guard of two hundred negroes on 
foot, one hundred of them armed with muskets, fifty with long spears, 
and fifty with great bows and arrows, with long knives by their sides : 
they always attend him when he goes out on his beast : he has a.so a 
very large army : they fight with guns, spears, and uows and arrows. 
The city has twice as many inhabitants in it as Tombuctoo, and we 
saw a great many towns near it on the other side of the river, as well 
as several small settlements on the same side below. The king nor 
the people do not pray like the Moslemins, but they jump about, fall 
down, tear their faces as if they were mad when ah} of their friends 
die, and every time they see the new moon, they make a great feast, 
and dance all night to music made by sinking and beating on skins 
tied across a hollow stick, and shaking little stones in a bag or shell; 



172 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE, 

but they do not read nor write, and are heathens. Though the free 
people in this place do not steal, and are very hospitable, yet 1 hope 
the time is near when the faithful, and they that fear God and his pro- 
phet, will turn them to the true belief, or drive them away from this 
goodly land. 

" 1 he principal inhabitants of Wassanah are dressed in shirts of 
white or blue cloth, with short trowsers, and some with a long robe 
over the whole, tied about with a girdle of different colours : the free 
females are generally very fat, and dress in blue or white coverings tied 
about their waists with girdles of all colours : they wear a great many 
ornaments of gold, and beads, and shells, hanging to their ears and 
noses, necks, arms, ankles, and all over their hair ; but the poorer sort 
are only covered about their loins by a cloth which grows on the tree 
that bears the big fruit I have told you about before." This fruit, 1 
imagine, must be the cocoa-nut, and 1 have often in the West-Indies, 
and elsewhere, observed the outer bark of this singular palmtree : it 
is woven by nature like cloth, each thread being placed exactly over 
and under the others. 1^ appears like regular wove coarse bagging, 
and is quite strong: it loosens and drops from the trunk of the tree of 
its own accord, as the tree increases in size and age. I had long be- 
fore considered that this most singular bark must have suggested to 
man the first idea of cloth, and taught him how to spin, and place the 
threads so as to form it of other materials that have since been used foi 
that purpose, and this first hint from nature has been improved into 
our present methods of spinning and weaving. 

" The male slaves go entirely naked, but the women are allowed a 
piece of this cloth to cover their nakedness with : they are very nume- 
rous, and many of them kept chained : they are obliged to work the 
earth round about the city. The inhabitants catch a great many fish : 
they have boats made of great trees, cut off and hollowed out, that will 
hold ten, fifteen, or twenty negroes ; and the brother of the king told 
one of my Moslemin companions who could understand him, (for I 
could not,) that he was going to set out in a few days with sixty boats, 
and to carry five hundred slaves down the river, first to the southward, 
and then to the westward, where they should come to the great water, 
and sell them to pale people, who came there in large boats, and 
brought muskets, and powder, and tobacco, and blue cloth, and knives, 
&c. : he said it was a long way, and would take him three moons to 
get there, and he should be gone twenty moons before he could get 
back by land, but should be very rich." I then asked him how many 
boats he supposed there were in the river at Wassanah ? he said, " A 
great many, three or four hundred, 1 should think ; but some of them 
are very small : we saw a great many of these people who had been 
iownthe river to see the great water, with slaves and teeth, and came 
back again : they said the pale people lived in great boats, and had 
guns as big as their bodies, that made a noise like thunder, and would 
kill all the people in a hundred negro boats, if they went too near 
them. We saw in the river and on the bank a great number of fish 
with legs and large mouths, and these would run into the water in a 
minute, if any man went near them, but they told us they would catch 
children, and sometimes men, when in the boats: (these are, no doubt, 
crocodiles or hippopotamus'.) The negroes are very kind, and would 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 173 

always give u§ barley, corn, or rice, milk or meat, if we were hungry, 
though we could not speak a language they understood. While we 
stopped at Wassanah, it rained almost every day. Having traded 
away all the goods we carried there, Shelbar took three hundred slaves 
and a great many teeth, dazzling stones, and shells, and gold — with 
these we set off again, and went the same way back to Tombuctoo, 
which took us three moons, and we were gone from the time we left it, 
to the time we returned, %ight moons. On my arrival at Tombuctoo, 
we were paid by the chief of the caravan according to promise, and :» 
t\i\v days afterwards a caravan arrived there from Tunis, which we join- 
ed, to return by that way to our own country." 

1 must here beg the reader's indulgence for a moment, in order to 
make some remarks, and a few geographical observations that this 
part of the narrative has suggested. This na/rative J, for my own part, 
consider strictly true and correct, as far as the memory and judgment 
of Sidi Harriet were concerned, whose veracity and intelligence I had 
before tested : he had not the least inducement held out to him for 
giving this account, further than my own and Mr. Willshire's curiosi- 
ty ; and his description of Tombuctoo agrees in substance with that 
given by several Moors, (Fez merchants,) who came to Mr. Willshire's 
house to buy goods while Sidi Hamet was there, and who said they 
had known him in Tombuctoo several years ago. From these con- • 
siderations combined, and after examining the best maps extant, 1 
conclude that I have strong grounds on which to found the following 
geographical opinions, viz. 

1st, That the great Desart is much higher land on its southern side 
(as I had proved it to be on the north by my own observations) than 
the surrounding country, and consequently that its' whole surface is 
much higher than the land near it that is susceptible of cultivation. 
2dly, That the river which Sidi Hamet and his companions came to 
within fourteen days' ride, and west of Tombu*too, called by the 
Arabs el fVoed Tenij, and by the negroes Gozen-Zair, takes its rise in 
the mountains south of, and bordering on, the great desart, being pro- 
bably the northern brancn of that extensive ridge in which the Sene- 
gal, Gambia, and Niger rivers have their sources ; and that this river 
is a branch of the Niger, which runs eastwardly for several hundred 
miles to Tombuctoo, near which city, many branches uniting in one 
great stream, it takes the name of Zolibib, and continues to run nearly 
east, about two hundred and fifty miles from Tombuctoo ; when meet- 
ing with high land, it is turned more southeastwardly, and running in 
that direction in a winding course, about five hundred miles, it has met 
with some obstructions, through which it has forced its way, and 
formed a considerable fall : for Sidi Hamet, having spent six days in 
passing the mountains, came again near the river, which was then rilled 
with broken rocks, and the water was foaming and roaring, among them, 
as he observed, " most dreadfully." This must be a fall or rapid. 
3dly, That from these falls, it runs first to the southeastward, and then 
more to the south, till it reaches Wassanah, about six hundred miles 
where it is by some called Zolibib, and by others Zadi. 4thly, Thai 
as the inhabitants of Wassanah say they go first to the southward, and 
then to the westward, in boats to the great water; this 1 conceive must 
oe the Atlantic ocean, where they have seen pale men and grear 



174 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

boats, &c. These 1 should naturally conclude were Europeans, witn 
vessels ; and that it takes three moons to get there, (about eighty-five 
days,) at the rate of thirty miles a day, which is the least we can give 
them with so strong a current : it makes a distance from thence to the 
sea of about two thousand five hundred miles : in computing this dis- 
tance, one-third or more should be allowed for its windings, so that the 
whole length of the river is about four thousand miles, and is probably 
the longest and largest on the African continent. 5thly, That the 
waters of this river in their passage towards the east, have been ob- 
structed in their course by high mountains in the central regions of 
this unexplored continent, and turned southwardly ; that they are borne 
along to the southward, between the ridges of mountains that are known 
to extend all along the western coast, from Senegal to the gulf of 
Guinea, and to round with that gulf to the south of the equator ; that 
they are continually narrowed in and straightened by that immense 
ridge in which the great river Nile is known to have its sources, and 
which mountains lie in the equatorial region ; that this central river 
receives, in its lengthened course, all the streams that water and ferti- 
lize the whole country between the two before mentioned ridges of 
mountains : the waters thus accumulated and pent up, at length broke 
over their western and most feeble barrier, tore it down to its base, and 
thence found and forced their way to the Atlantic ocean, forming 
what is now known as the river Congo. In corroboration of this opinion, 
some men of my acquaintance, who have visited the Congo, and traded 
all along the coast between it and the Senegal, affirm, that the Congo 
discharges more water into the Atlantic, taking the whole year toge- 
ther, than all the streams to the northward of it, between its mouth 
and Cape de Verd. 

SECTION V. 

Sidi Hamefs journey from Tombuctoo to Morocco by the eastern route 
— His description of the Desart, and of the country on both sides of 
it — Of a dreadful battle ivith the wandering Arabs — Sidi Hamet 
takes his leave, and sets out to join his family. 

"The caravan we joined at Tombuctoo, was a very large one, be- 
longing to Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, and Fez, four united together. 
They remained near that city two moons, and bought two thousand 
slaves, besides a great deal of gold dust, and teeth, and turbans, and 
gold rings, and chains, and gum ; but Seid and I had only our two 
camels, and they were but partly loaded with gum, for account of Ben 
Nassar, the Sheick of the Tunissian part of the caravan, for there 
were three Sheicks in it. When every thing was ready, we set oft 
from Tombuctoo, and travelled east-northerly twenty days through the 
hilly country, crossing a great many little streams of water that ran to 
the south and west towards the great river, it having rained very hard 
almost every night whilst we were at Tombuctoo. 

"When we were going amongst the hills and trees, we saw a great 
many small towns or cities, most of them fenced in with good stone 
walls, but some with cane and thorn bushes. The land of that coun- 
try is very good, and plenty of corn grows on it, and some rice and 
dates, and we saw some oxen, sheep, and asses, and a few horsea. 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 175 

The inhabitants are Moors and Arabs mixed with the negroes, and 
almost as black as the latter; all of our own religion: they are very 
stoat fierce men, but they did not attempt to molest us, and sold us 
every thing we wanted at a cheap rate: they wear no ciothing but a 
strip of cloth about their middles, and a ring of bone or ivory round 
the women's ankles and wrists, and some beads in their hair ; they are 
peaceable people, and never attack the caravans unless the latter 
attempt to rob them : they are armed with muskets, and with long 
knives, and with bows and arrows. When they are forced to fight, 
they do it with the greatest fury, and never take prisoners or receive 
quarter, and only defend their rights. Some of the people in our 
caravan told us, that a few years ago a caravan, going fromTombuctoo 
to Tunis, Algiers, &c. in passing through this country, surprised and 
stole about four hundred of the inhabitants for slaves, and a great 
number of cattle and much corn, and went towards the desart; but 
these people assembled a large host, and came up with them in the 
night near the edge of the desart, and cut the whole of them to 
pieces, though they were more than two thousand men strong, and 
well armed ; only about fifty of the people of the caravan escaped and 
got back to Tunis to tell the news, and they only by riding on the 
swiftest camels without any loads. After having refreshed our camels 
for ten days in a beautiful valley, where there was a good stream of 
water for them to drink, and filled the sacks with coals, we mounted 
up to the desart, and steered on the flat level away to the north. As 
we went along we came to some small valleys,' where the Arabs feed 
their camels and live on their milk, and think themselves the most 
learned, virtuous, and religious people in the world, arid the most 
happy too, though they have neither bread, nor meat, nor honey, nor 
any clothing but a rag tied round their waists, and live in tents, wan- 
dering about. We steered about north for eighteen davs, when we 
came to the usual watering place, called Weydlah ; here was a great 
deal of water in a pond, but it was black and quite salt, like the water 
in the wells close by the great sea: it was very dead and stinking, 
and tasted of sulphur: it is in a very deep pit and difficult to get at, 
there being only one place by which we could lead the camels down 
to the water : it is said to be very deep in the middle, and was never 
known to be dry: it was almost covered over by a thick green scum : 
we could see the tracks of wild beasts, such as tigers and lions, near 
the water. We had seen a great many of these animals in our travels 
to Wassanah, and when we were coming from Tombuctoo to the 
eastward. Our caravan consisted of about fifteen hundred men, most 
of us well armed with double barrelled guns and scimitars, and we had 
about four thousand camels. It was a long journey to the next well ; 
so we stopped here six days peaceably, having encamped in a valley 
a little distance west of the pond or lake. We had always made the 
camels lie down in a circle, placing the goods in the centre, and the 
men between the camels and the goods: we nad two hundred men on 
guard, and always ready for any emergency. In the night of the sixth 
rjay, about two hours alter midnight, we were attacked by a very huge 
body of wandering Arabs: they had got to within a few yards of us 
before they were discovered, and poured in a most destructive fire o( 
musketry, at the same time running in like hungry tigers, with spear» 



176 

and scimitars in their hands, with dreadful yellings : they threw the 
whole caravan into confusion for a moment ; but we were in a tight 
circle, formed by the camels, which with the guards kept them oil 
for a short time, till the whole of our men seized their arms and rallied 
The battle now raged most furiously: it was cloudy and very dark, 
the blaze of the powder making only a faint light, whilst the cracking 
of musketry, the clashing of swords, the shouts of the combatants, 
and the bellowings of the wounded and frightened camels, together 
with the groans of the wounded and dying men, made the most dread- 
ful and horrid uproar that can be conceived. The fight continued for 
about two hours, hand to hand and breast to breast, when the assail- 
ants gave way and ran off, leaving their dead and wounded on the 
field of battle. We remained with our arms in our hands all night. 
I was wounded with a ball in my thigh, and Seid with a dagger on 
his breast." They then showed me their scars. " In the morn- 
ing we numbered our men, and found that two hundred and thirty 
were killed, and about one hundred wounded : three hundred of 
the camels were either slain or so badly wounded that they could 
not walk, and so we killed them. We found seven hundred of our 
enemies lying on the ground, either dead or wounded ; those that 
were badly wounded, we killed, to put them out of pain, and carried 
the others that could walk along with us for slaves ; of these there 
were about one hundred. As the enemy fled, they took all their good 
camels with them, for they had left them at a distance, so that we only 
found about fifty poor ones, which we killed ; but we picked up two 
hundred and twenty good double barrelled guns from the ground : 
the gun which Seid now uses is one of them; we got also about four 
hundred scimitars or long knives. We were told by the prisoners that 
the company who attacked us was upwards of four thousand strong, 
and that they had been preparing for it three moons. We were afratd 
of another attack, and went off the same day, and travelled all the 
night, steering to, the N. E. (out of the course, the caravans commonly 
take) twenty-three days' journey, when we came to a place called the 
Eight Wells, where we found plenty of good water. Fifty of our 
men had died, and twenty-one of the slaves. We remained near these 
good wells for eleven days ; our camels feeding on the bushes in the 
valleys near them, when we again travelled to the northwestward ten 
days to Twati, a good watering place. For the last three days we 
waded through deep sands, like those we passed among while going 
from Widnoon. We rested here two days, and then went down north, 
into the country of dates, and came to the town of Gujelah, a little 
strong place belonging to Tunis — there we found plenty of fruit «and 
good water, and meat and milk : we stopped there ten days, and then 
the part of the caravan going to Tripoli left us and went towards the 
east, by the mountains, and the rest went on northeasterly twelve days 
to Tuggurtah, close by a mountain near the river Tegsah, that is said 
to go to the sea near Tunis ; here we stopped twenty-five days, and 
the caravan for Tunis left us. Tuggurtah is a very large city, with 
high and thick walls, made tight, and has a great many people in it, 
all of the true religion, and a vast number of black slaves, and a few 
white ones. After stopping here twenty-five days, we set off to the 
northwe»tward through a very fine country, full of date and fig trees. 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 177 

and cattle, and goats, camels, sheep, and asses ; we then travelled ten 
days to the high mountains, where the caravan for Algiers parted from 
us, and we remained with about two hundred camels and eighty men 
going to Fez. We then travelled over the great mountain, which we 
were told belongs to the same ridge we see close to Morocco and in 
Suse ; (the Atlas;) and in two moons more we passed through .Fez, 
where what remained of the caravan stopped, and we returned to our 
father's house, and our families, on the side of the Atlas mountains, 
near the city of Morocco, having been gone more than two years. 
We brought back only one camel, and a small load of merchandise, 
out of the eight camels richly loaded when we set out; yet we thank- 
ed God for having preserved our lives ; for the whole caravan with 
which we started had perished on the desart, and out of the twenty- 
eight men who left it with us, only four reached their homes, and they 
on foot, and entirely destitute of property. 1 found my wife and all 
my children and my father's family in good health. Sheick Ali came 
to see me as soon as he got the news of my arrival, and after staying 
with me one moon, he invited me and Seid to go with him to his place, 
which invitation we accepted, and he furnished us with one camel 
and some haicks and blue cloth, and advised us to go up on the desart 
and trade them away for ostrich feathers, to sell in Morocco or Swea- 
rah ; so, being poor, we accepted his offer, bought his goods and his 
camel, and. he was to have been paid when we came .back. We set 
off for the desart, and had passed a great many tribes of Arabs without 
finding any feathers of consequence, when the great ^rod directed our 
steps to your master^ tent, and 1 saw you. 1 was once as bad a man 
as Seid, but 1 had been in distress and in a strange land, and had found 
friends to keep me and restore me to my family;; and when 1 saw you 
naked and a slave, with your skin and flesh burnt from your bones by 
the sun, and heard you say you had a wife and children, I thought of 
my own former distresses, and God softened my heart, and J became 
your friend. 1 did all 1 could to lighten the burden of your afflictions : 
1 have endured hunger, thirst, and fatigues, and have fought for your 
sake, and have now the high pleasure of knowing I have done some 
good in the world; and may the great and universal Father still pro- 
tect you : you have been true and kind to me, and your friend has fed 
me with milk and honey; and I will always in future do what is in 
my power to redeem Christians from slavery." 

Here Sidi Hamet finished his narration : he then said he wished to 
go and see his wife and children, and that as soon as he had rested 
for a few days, he would set off again with a large company to seek 
after the rest of my men. The "next morning I made'him a small 
present, and Mr. Willshire also gave him some fine powder, and many 
order small articles. After he was prepared to go, he swore by his 
right hand, he would bring up the remainder of my crew if they were 
to be found alive, and God spared his life: he then took his leave o< 
me by shaking hands, and of all my companions, wishing us a happy 
sight of our friends, and set off for his home. I did not part with him 
without feelings of regret and shedding tears; for he had been a kind 
mister to me, and to him I owed, under God, my life and deliverance 
from slavery; nor could I avoid reflecting on the wonderful means 
employed by Providence to bring about my redemption., <and that of a 
oart of my late unfortunate crew. 



178 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

An account of the face of the great African Desart, or Zahahrah ; of it 
inhabitants, their customs, manners, dress, fyc. — A description of flu 
Arabian camel or dromedary. 

In giving an account of the great western desart, or Zahahrah, and 
of its inhabitants, &c. it must be remembered, that in journeying 
across, or on the desart when a slave, I did not go over, but a very 
small part, comparatively speaking, of that extensive region ; J can- 
not therefore undertake to describe what did not come under my own 
observation. I can, however, state, without fear of future contradic- 
tion, the following facts, viz. that the face of this desart, from about 
the latitude of 20 to 22 degrees north, where we were forced ashore 
in our boat, to near the latitude of 28 degrees north, and from the lon- 
gitude of Cape Barbas, about 19 to 11 degrees west, is a smooth sur- 
face, consisting partly of solid rocks, of gravel, sand, and stones mixed, 
and in some places of what is commonly called soil • this mass is baked 
down together in most places, by the extreme heat of the sun, nearly 
as hard as marble, so that no tracks of man or beast are discoverable; 
for the footstep leaves no impression. The whole surface is as smooth, 
when viewed on every side, as the plain of the ocean unruffled by 
winds or tempests, stretching out as far as the eye can reach ; not a 
break that might serve as a landmark, or guide to the traveller; not a 
tree, shrub, or any other object, to interrupt the view within the hori- 
zon ; the whole is in appearance a dreary waste : the soil is in colour 
of a light reddish brown : not a stream of water (at least for many 
centuries past) has refreshed this region, which is doomed to eternal 
barrenness ; but as we went forward on this flat hard surface, we met 
from distance to distance with small valleys or dells, scooped out, in 
appearance, by the hand of nature, from five to thirty feet below the 
plain — those we saw and stopped in were ten, fifteen, and twenty miles 
apart, and contained from one to four or five acres each — they seem 
to serve as receptacles for the little rain water which falls on the desart ; 
for the inhabitants always expect some in the winter months, though 
they are frequently disappointed ; and none had fallen on those parts 
on which we were thrown for the last two years. 

It was already September, and they were offering up prayers to the 
Almighty every day, and most fervently imploring him to send them 
refreshing rains. These little valleys appear mostly in the form of a 
bowl, though in some the sides are steep, and bottoms nearly level, 
and the whole irregular. Here grows a dwarf thorn bush, from two to 
five feet in height ; it is generally scattered thinly over the valley. 
The leaves of this shrub, which is almost the only one that is to be 
found on that part of the desart, are a fourth of an inch in thickness, 
one and a half inches in width, and from two to two and a half inches 
in length, tapering to a sharp point, and are strongly impregnated with 
salt, so much so, that neither myself nor my companions could eat 
them, though nearly perishing with hunger and thirst, and a green 
fresh leaf would have been a great relief to us, when neither meat nor 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 179 

drink was to be procured. Such is the face of the desart over which 
we passed, until we came within a short distance of Cape Bajador, 
where we (ell in with immense heaps of loose sand, forming mountains 
of from one to three or four hundred feet in height, blown and whirled 
about by every wind, and dreadful to the traveller, should a strong 
gale arise from the southward whilst in the midst of them ; for he and 
his beasts must then inevitably perish, overwhelmed by flying surges 
of suffocating sand. 

The face of this part of the desart is still the same as that before de- 
scribed, when laid bare and seen between the sand hills, by reason of 
the sand being blown off. This sand has evidently been driven from 
the seashore, and in the same degree as the ocean has retired, by means 
of the trade wind blowing constantly on to the desart, and that too 
very strongly in the night time, through a long succession of ages. 
The heavy surf dashing perpetually among the rocks, gradually re- 
duces them to grit, which then mixes with the sand that is washed up 
upon the shore, where it is left by the tides that rise on this coast to 
the height of twelve or fourteen "feet, and only once in twenty-foui 
hours ; this becomes dried by the excessive heat of the sun, and is 
whirled about and driven before this constant gale, upon the surface, 
and then into the interior of the desart. Such have unquestionably 
been the causes which have produced such astonishing accumulations 
of sand on that part of the desart ; and 1 am further confirmed in this 
belief by the enormous strings of sand hills to be found all along the 
coast of Suse and Morocco, near the seashore. These accumulations 
are in many parts so great, as to have raised new bounds to the ocean 
some miles beyond its original limits, which have evidently been wash- 
ed by the sea at a former period, and the intermediate spaces are filled 
up with loose sand hills ; which circumstances all together amount, 
in my opinion, to a demonstration of the origin of the sand on this pari 
of the desart. 

Some authors have supposed that there were many fertile spots on 
'he great western desart which were cultivated, &c. &c. but this is, I 
think, an impossibility : the whole desart being a level plain, it can 
produce neither spring or stream of water, and no herbage can conse- 
quently grow unless by means of rain, and this falls on the desart so 
seldom, and is so soon evaporated, as to render even a passage across 
it with a caravan of Arabs and camels, at all times dangerous in the ex- 
treme, as is proved by Sidi Hamet's narrative of his journeys, con- 
nected with my own observations. That there are more shrubs grow- 
ing in some parts than in others, is true, from natural causes. This 
smooth dry surface can produce no vapour, and if it did, there are no 
breaks or mountains to arrest it, and it flies oft* to the north or south, 
where more is produced : the neighbourhood of mountains condenses 
Ihe atmosphere and produces the rain, which is driven sometimes only 
from thence on to the desart by strong gales, and even then in scanty 
quantities. The small valleys or dells which now furnish a scanty 
subsistence for the hardy camel, and that only by feeding on the 
coarsest shrubs and leaves, serve as basins to catch the little water that 
sometimes falls there : this is immediately dried away by the intense 
heat of the sun, which beats down upon the surface in all parts most 
violently, and scorches like actual fire ; — yet that moisture, little as it 



180 gaptain riley's narrative. 

is, causes the growth of the dwarf thorn bush, and of two or three othei 
prickly plants, resembling weeds ; these grow only amc ig sand, and 
there are spots on the desart which produce a shrub that grows up in a 
bunch at the bottom as thick as a man's leg, and then branches off in 
every direction to the height of two feet, with a diameter of four or 
five feet. Each branch is two or three inches in circumference, and they 
are fluted like pillars or columns in architecture, and almost square at 
their tops : these are armed with small sharp prickles all over, two or 
three inches long, and yield, when broken off, a whitish liquid that is 
very nauseous, and bites the tongue like aqua-fortis,so that the camels 
will nip it off only when they can find nothing else : they art so numerous 
in some places, that it is difficult for the camels to get rlong amongst 
them, and they are obliged to dodge about between tksse bunches. 
This plant resembles a chandelier in appearance : the ,\trren moun- 
tains of Suse are nearly covered with it : I believe it is a species ot 
euphorbium, and each of the branches were surmounted at that time 
with a red blossom of three or four leaves, half an inch long, resem- 
bling in some degree the blaze of a candle ; from this fi\ wer the bees 
that are found in such quantities in Suse extract their honey. 

In many valleys the thorn bushes furnish a few snails. A few ground 
nuts are also to be found, resembling in shape and size t: tnall onions ; 
and there are also to be seen under the shade of the thorn bushes, an 
herb known by the name of shepherd's sprouts in Amei'ca ; but like 
the other things before mentioned, they are very rarely to be met with. 
These are, as far as came within my knowledge, the whcle of the pro- 
ductions of the desart. 

It has been imagined by many, that the desart abounded in noxious 
animals, serpents, and other reptiles ; but we saw none, nor is it pos- 
sible for any animal that requires water to exist on the aesart of Za- 
hahrah, unless it is under the care of, and assisted by ma^in procuring 
that necessary article. I saw no animal that was wild, except the 
ostrich, nor can 1 conceive how that animal exists withou : fresh water, 
which it is certain he cannot procure, nor what kind of nourishment he 
subsists on. There are neither beasts, nor birds, nor reptiles, to be 
seen on that dreary waste on which we travelled, and it "s certain that 
there are other districts still worse, bearing not the smallest herb nor 
bush wherewith the camel can fill his stomach ; but ne t r the borders 
of the desart, where more shrubs are produced, sheep and goats are 
fed in considerable numbers, and we saw many of thoso light-footed 
and beautiful animals called the Gazelle, tripping across the sand hills, 
and near watering places ; some tigers also now and theu made their 
appearance. Such is the great western desart, or Zabahrah, which 
can only afford a description as dry and as barren as its dreary surface. 
For its extent, see the map. 

Nearly all parts of this vast desart are inhabited by different tribes 
of Arabs, who live entirely on the milk of their camels and wander 
from valley to valley, travelling nearly every day for the sane of finding 
food for their camels, and consequently food for themselv ^s : they live 
in tents formed of cloth made of camels' hair, which they pull off by 
hand, and spin with a hand spindle ; this they twist roi nd with the 
fore-finger and thumb of the right hand, after they have pulled out the 
thread sufficiently long from a bunch of camels' hair, whuh they hold 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 181 

i fc msir left hand, whilst the spindle descends to the ground, when 
th>,} take it up in their hand again, and wind off the yarn in a ball, and 
thea spin another length in like manner : they afterwards double and 
twist it by hand, making a thread as thick as a goose quill. When 
they have spun a sufficient quantity, and have agreed to stop for two 
or three days in one place, (which ihey always do when they can find 
sufficient food for their camels,) they drive into the ground two rows of 
pegs, in parallel lines, sufficiently wide for a tent cloth, that is, abo^ 
two and a half feet apart : they then warp the yarn round the pegs, 
and commence weaving it by running a kind of wooden sword through 
the yarn under one thread and over another, in the manner of darn- 
ing : this sword they carry with them, and it appears to have been 
used for ages : they then tuck through the filling by hand, after turn- 
ing up the sword edgeways, haul it tight, and beat it up with the sword, 
as represented in plate No. 6. They weave it the whole length which 
they intend the tent to be, and then roll up the pieces or length, until 
they have made enough to finish a tent. This, in my opinion, must 
have been the very first method of weaving practised in the world, and 
the idea, 1 imagine, was taken from a view of the outer bark of the 
cocoa-nut tree, as I have before observed. The tent is then sewed 
together with the same kind of twine, through holes made with an iron 
bodkin. After it is sewed together to a proper width, from six to ten 
breadths, they make four loops on its ends, by fastening short crooked 
sticks to the cloth, and two on each side. When they are about to 
pitch the tent, they spread it out, stretching the cords by which it is 
fastened, and driving a stout peg into the ground for each cord ; this 
is done with a hard smooth stone, which they always carry with them, 
in place of a hammer ; then getting under the tent and raising it, they 
place a block, whose top is rounded like a wooden bowl, under its 
centre, and set the tent pole into a hole made for that purpose, and 
set the pole upright, which keeps the tent steady in its place. After 
the tent is laised, all the ropes that hold and steady it (ten in number) 
are tautened : these ropes are made of skins partly dressed, or of ca- 
mels' hair, so that the tent is suspended in form of an oblong um- 
brella, and the lower edge is about two feet from the ground. In the 
day time they raise up the south part of their tents (as those on the 
desart are always pitched facing the south) with two small stanchions 
fixed under the cords that hold it in front, so that they can go under 
the tent by stooping : this tent serves all the family for a shelter. Each 
family has a mat, which serves as a bed for the whole : they lie down 
on it promiscuously, only wrapped up in their haick or blanket, if they 
have one ; if not, in the skin that covers their loins only, and lie close 
together, to keep off the cold winds which blow under the tents in the 
night : the children lie between the grown persons; their heads are as 
low, and frequently lower than their feet, and their long bushy hair, 
which is never combed, and resembles a woollen thrumb mop, serves 
them instead of a pillow. The families consist of the father, and one 
or more wives, and '.he children that are unmarried, (generally about 
four to a family, but sometimes six or eight,) and their slaves, who 
are blacks. 

The rich Arabs have one, two, or tmee slaves, male and female; 
tUese are allowed to sleep on the same mat with their masters and mi* 



182 CAPTAIN RILEY^S NARRATIVE. 

tresses, and are treated in all respects like the children of the familj 
in regard to apparel, &c. ; they are not, however, permitted to marry 
or cohabit with the Arab women, under pain of death, and are obliged 
to take care of the camels and follow thern, and to do other drudgery, 
such as getting fuel, &c. but they will not obey the women, and raise 
their voices higher than their master or any of his children in a dis- 
pute, and consequently are considered smart fellows. They marry 
among their own colour while they are slaves, with the consent of 
their masters, but the children remain slaves. After a slave has served 
his master faithfully for a long time, or has done him some essential 
service, he is made free : he then enters into all the privileges that 
the free Arabs enjoy, and can marry into any of their families, which 
he or she never fails to do, and thus become identified with the fami- 
lies of the tribe in which they were slaves, and may rise to the very 
head of it. The negroes are generally active and brave, are seldom 
punished with stripes, and those who drive the camels do not scruple 
to milk them when they are thirsty, but take care not to be discovered : 
they are extremely cunning, and will steal any thing they can get at 
to eat or drink, from their masters, or indeed any one else. If they 
are caught in the act of stealing, they are only threatened, and pro- 
mised a flogging the next time, (this being the common practice of 
their masters!) The father of the family is its absolute chief in all re- 
spects, though he seldom inflicts punishment : his wives and daugh- 
ters are considered as mere slaves, subject to his will or caprice ; yet 
they take every opportunity to deceive or steal from him : he deals 
out the milk to each with his own hand, nor dare any one touch it 
until it is thus divided : he always assists in milking the camels, then 
puts the milk into a large wooden bowl, which has probably been in 
the family for ages : some of the largest bowls will contain five gallons : 
they are frequently split in every direction, and the split parts are 
fastened together with small iron plates, with a rivet at each end, made 
of the same metal. All the milk is thrown into the great bowl ; then, 
if in the old man's opinion, there is a sufficient quantity for a good 
drink round, he takes a small bowl, (of which sort they generally have 
two or three,) and after washing or rubbing it with dry sand, he begins 
to distribute the milk, by giving to each grown person an equal share, 
and to the children in proportion to their size, measuring it very ex- 
actly, and taking a proportionate quantity to himself. If there is any 
left, (which was very seldom the case with those 1 lived among,) he has 
it put into a skin, to serve for a drink at noon the next day : if there 
is not a sufficient quantity of milk for a good drink all round, the old 
man fills it up with water (if they have any) to a certain mark in the 
bowl, and then proceeds to divide it as before related. 

The camels are driven out early in the morning, and home about 
dark, when they are made to lie down before the tent of their owner, 
very near, with their tails towards it : a doubled rope with a large 
Knot in one end is then put round the knee joint when the leg is dou- 
bled in, and the knot being thrust througn the doubled part at the 
other end, effectually fastens the knee Lent as it is, so that the camei 
cannot get up to walk off, having but the use of three of his legs. 
This kind of becket is also fixed on the knees of the old camels that 
ead the drove ; and the others remain quiet when their leaders 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 183 

are fast : in this manner they are suffered to lie until about mid- 
night, when they have had time to cool and the milk to collect in their 
bags — the becket is then taken off, and as soon as they get up, the 
net which covers the bag to prevent the young ones from consuming 
the milk, is loosened : this is fastened on by two cords, that go over 
the back of the camel, and are knotted together. As each camel is 
milked, the net is carefully replaced, and she is made to lie down in 
the same place again : here they lie until daylight, when all the ca- 
mels are made to get up ; a little milk is then drawn from each, and 
the young ones are suffered to suck out the remainder, when the net 
is put* in its place again, not to be removed until the following mid- 
night. While the head of the family is busied milking the camels 
and suckling the young ones, assisted by all the males, the wife and 
females are striking and folding up the tent, selecting the camels to 
carry the stuff, and bringing them near, where they make them lie 
down and pack on them the tent and all their other materials. This 
being done, they fasten a leather or skin basket, about four feet wide, 
fitted with a kind of tree, like a saddle, on the back of one of the tamest 
camels, in which the women place the old men and women that can- 
not walk, and young children, ana frequently themselves, and proceed 
forward according to their daily custom. The women take care of 
the stuff and the camels that carry it, and of the children : the other 
camels are driven off by slaves, if they have any, if not, by some of the 
boys, and kept where there are some shrubs to be found, until night. 
The old man, or head of the family, generally precedes the women and 
stuff, after having described to them the course they are to steer. He 
sets off on his camel, with his gun in his hand, at a full trot, and goes 
on until he finds a fit place in which to pitch the tent, when he gives 
the information to his wife, who then proceeds with all possible des- 
patch to the spot, unloads her camels, and lets them go ; then she 
spreads her tent, puts all the stuff under it, clears away the small 
stones, and spreads her mat, arranges her bowls, hangs up the skins 
containing water, (if they have any,) on a kind of horse or frame that 
folds together, &c. &c. They start long before sun-rising in the 
morning, and calculate to pitch their tents at about lour o'clock in 
the afternoon, if they can find a convenient spot ; otherwise a little 
sooner or later. When one family sets off, the whole of that part of the 
tribe dwelling near travel on with them ; and 1 have frequently seen 
from five hundred to one thousand camels in one drove, all going the 
same way, and I was greatly surprised to see with what facility "they 
could distinguish and separate them ; each knowing his own camels, 
even to the smallest : thty would sometimes march together for half 
a day ; then in a few minutes they would separate, and each take his 
own course, and would generally pitch within a few miles of each 
other. As soon as the place is agreed on, the men go out on their 
camels, with their guns, different ways, to reconnoitre and see if they 
have enemies near. $S 

When they rise in the morning, riter having first milked their ca- 
mels, and suckled the young ones," they next attend to prayers, which 
is done in the following manner: they first find a sandy spot, then un- 
wrap themselves, and take up sand in both their hands; with this they 
rub their faces, necks, arms, legs, and every part of their bodies, 



184 

except their backs, which they cannot reach: this doi* ,, as if th y 
washed with water, they stand erect, facing towards ti?e east; wrap 
themselves up as neatly as they can in their blankets or skins ; they 
look up towards heaven, and then bow their heads, Leuding their 
bodies half way to the ground, twice, crying aloud at each time, Allah 
Hooakibar. They next kneel down, and supporting themstlves with 
their hands, they worship, bowing their faces in the dust, t^ice suc- 
cessively ; then, being still on their knees, they bend themselves for- 
ward, nearly to the ground, repeating, Hi el Allah-Sheda Mohammed 
— Rahsool Allah ; then rising, they again repeat, Allah Hooakibar, two 
or three times ; and this is the common mode of woi shipping four 
times' a day. In addition to this, at sun-setting, they implore the Al- 
mighty to send rain to moisten the parched earth ; to cause the food 
to grow for their camels ; to keep them under his special care, with 
their families and tribes ; to enrich them with the spoils of their ene- 
mies, and to confound and destroy them that seek their hurt : they 
thank the Almighty for his past mercies, for food, raiment, and his pro- 
tection, &c. &c. ; they then repeat part of a chapter firm the Koran, 
in which God's pretended promises to the faithful are made known by 
their prophet ; and repeating at all times the Hi el Alluh, or, " Great 
is the Almighty God, and Mohammed is his holy proohet." Their 
times of prayer are, before sun-rising in the morning, alout noon, the 
the middle of the afternoon, about sun-setting, and again two or three 
hours after the sun has set : this makes five times a Jay, washing 
themselves (at least their faces and hands, when they h?ve water) be- 
fore praying ; when they cannot get water, (which is always the case 
with those on the desartj) they perform their ablutions b 7 substituting 
sand. Mohammed, their prophet, when he arrived with an army on 
the desarts of Arabia, found that there was no water either for himself 
or his followers to wash in ; yet by the laws he had alrerdy promulga- 
ted, ablutions could not be dispensed with ; a new chapter, however, 
of revelation, soon relieved him from this dilemma, an^ he directed 
his followers to use sand, when no water was to be had. In the ninth 
chapter of the Book of Numbers, it appears that Moses, in a similar 
dilemma, found it necessary to apply for a new command from the 
Lord on a particular subject. 

The Arabs always wash when it is in their power, before they eat, 
nor does any business divert them from the strict observance of their 
religious ceremonies : and with respect to particular stated times, 
while pursuing their journeys, and going on in the greatest haste, when 
the time for prayers arrives, all stop, make the camels ,"ie down, and 
perform what they conceive to be their indispensable duty ; praying, 
in addition to the usual forms, to be directed in the righ course, and 
that God will lead them to wells of living water, and to hospitable 
brethren, who will feed them, and not suffer them to pe.-ish far from 
the fane" of man ; that he will enrich them with spoil", and deliver 
thein from all who lie in wait to do them mischief : this done, they 
mount again cheerfully, and proceed, encouraging their camels by a 
song, a very lively one, if they wish them to go on a trot ; if only to 
walk, something more slow and solemn. 

The Arabs who inhabit the great western desart, are in their persons 
about five feet seven or eight inches in height ; and toleiably well set 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 185 

in tfieir frames, though lean : their complexion is of a dark olive : 
they have high cheek-bones, and aquiline noses, rather prominent ; 
lank cheeks, thin lips, and rounded chins : their eyes are black, spark- 
ling, and intelligent : they have long black hair, coarse, and very 
thick; and the men cut theirs off with their knives, to the length of 
about six or eight inches, and leave it sticking out in every direction 
from their heads : they all wear long beards : their limbs are straight, 
and they can endure hunger, thirst, hardships, and fatigues, probably 
better than any other people under heaven : their clothing in general 
is nothing more than a piece of coarse cloth, made of camels' hair, 
tied round their waists, hanging nearly down to their knees ; or a 
goat-skin so fastened on, as to cover their nakedness ; but some of the 
rich ones wear a covering of linen or cotton cloth over their shoulders, 
to their knees, hanging something like a shift or shirt, without sleeves; 
and some have, besides, a haick or a woollen blanket, about four feet 
wide, and four yards long, which they wrap about them ; but this is 
the case only with the rich, and their number is very small. These 
haicks and blue shirts they get from the empire of Morocco, in ex- 
change for camels' hair and ostrich feathers ; the only commodities 
in which they can trade. The Arab women are short and meager, 
and their features much harder and more ugly than those of the men ; 
but they have long black hair, which they braid and tuck up in a bunch 
on their heads, and fasten it there by means of thorns. They gene- 
rally wear strings of black beads round their necks, and a white cir- 
cular bone, of three inches in diameter, in their hair, with bands of 
beads or other ornaments around their wrists and ankles. Their cheek 
bones are high and prominent ; their visages and lips are thin, and the 
upper lip is kept up by means of the two eye-teeth. They take great 
pains to make these teeth project forward, and turn up quite in front 
of the line of their other fore-teeth, which are as white and sound as 
ivory. Their eyes are round, black, and sparkling, very expressive, 
and extremely beautiful, particularly in the young women, who are 
generally plump and lascivious. The women wear a dress of coarse 
camels' hair cloth, which they manufacture in the same way they make 
their tent cloth : it covers their shoulders, leaving their arms and 
breasts naked ; it is sewed up on each side, and falls down nearly to 
their knees ; they have a fold in this, like a sack, next their skin on 
their shoulders, in which they carry their little children ; and the 
breasts of the middle aged women become so extremely long, lank, 
and pendulous, (being in appearance not unlike a wrinkled stocking 
with a small bunch at the bottom,) that they have no other trouble in 
nursing the child which is on their backs, when walking about, than to 
throw up their breasts over the top of their shoulders, so that the child 
may apply its lips. 

All the Arabs go barefoot ; the children, both male and female be- 
fore they come to the age of puberty, run about entirely naked, and 
this exposure to the sun is one great cause of their black colour. The 
miles are all circumcised at the age of eight years, not as a religious 
rite, but because it is found necessary as a preventive of a disease in- 
cident to the climate, (the venereal.) The men are very quick, ac- 
tive, and intelligent — more so, taken collectively, than any other set 
of men 1 had ever come acrosg in the different parts of the world 1 had 



136 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

before visited. They are the lords and masters in their families, and 
are very severe and cruel to their wives, whom they treat as mere ne- 
cessary slaves, and they do not allow them even as much liberty as 
they grant to their negroes, either in speech or action : they are con- 
sidered by the men as beings without souls, and consequently, they 
are not permitted to join in their devotions, but are kept constantly 
drudging at something or other, and are seldom allowed to speak 
when men are conversing together. They are very filthy in their per- 
sons, not even cleansing themselves with sand, and are covered with 
vermin. The continual harsh treatment, and hard drudgery to which 
they are subject, have worn off that fine edge of delicacy, sensibility, 
and compassion, so natural to their sex, and transformed them into 
unfeeling and unpitying beings ; so much so, that their conduct 
towards me and my companions in distress, was brutal in the 
extreme, and betrayed the extinction of every humane and generous 
feeling. * 

The Arab is high-spirited, brave, avaricious, rapacious, revengeful ; 
and, strange as it may appear, is at the same time hospitable and com- 
passionate : he is proud of being able to maintain his independence, 
though on a dreary desart, and despises those who are so mean and 
degraded as to submit to any government but that of the Most High. 
He struts about sole master of what wealth he possesses, always ready 
to defend it, and believes himself the happiest of men, and the most 
learned also ; handing down the tradition of his ancestors, as he is 
persuaded, for many thousands of years. He looks upon all other 
men to be vile, and beneath his notice, except as merchandise: he is 
content to live on the milk of his camels, which he takes great care to 
rear, and thanks his God daily for his continual mercies. They consider- 
ed themselves as much above me and my companions, both in intellect 
and acquired knowledge, as the proud and pampered West-India plan- 
ter (long accustomed to rule over slaves) fancies himself above the 
meanest new negro, just brought in chains from the coast of Africa. 
They never correct their male children, but the females are beat with- 
out mercy. The men were not cruel to us farther than they thought we 
were obstinate, and always gave us a small share of what they them- 
selves had to subsist on. 

I never witnessed a marriage among them, but was told that when 
a young man sees a girl that pleases him, he asks her of her father, 
and she becomes his wife without ceremony. Polygamy is allowed, 
but the Arabs of the desart have but very seldom more than one wife, 
unless amongst some of the rich ones, who have need of servants, 
when they take another wife, and sometimes a third. 

They all learn to read and write : in every family or division of a 
tribe, they have one man who acts as teacher to the children : they 
have boards of from one foot square to two feet long, and about an 
inch thick by eighteen inches wide: on these boards the children 
earn to write with a piece of pointed reed ; they have the secret of 
making ink, and that of a very black dye : when a fami'y of wandering 
Arabs pitch their tents, they set apart a place for a school : this they 
surround with broken shrubs in the desart to keep off the wind: 
here all the boys who have been circumcised of from eight to eighteen 
or twenty years old, attend, and are taught to read and to write verses 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 137 

from the Koran, which is kept in manuscript by every family on skins • 
they write their characters from right to left— are particular in the for- 
mation of them, and make their lines very straight: all the children 
attend from choice or for amusement. The teacher, I was told, never 
punishes a child, hut explains the meaning of things, and amuses him 
by telling tales that are both entertaining and instructive; he reads or 
rehearses chapters from the Koran or some other book, for they have 
a great many poems, &c. written also on skins : when the board is 
full of writing, they rub it off with sand, and begin again : they enu- 
merate with the nine figures now in use among all European nations, 
and in America, and were extremely astonished to find that 1 could 
make them, and understand their meaning, saying one to another, 
"This man must have been a slave before to some Arabian merchant, 
who has taught him the manner of using the Arabic figures, and con- 
trary to his law, unless indeed he is a good man and a believer." The 
boards on which they wrote seemed to have lasted for ages — they had 
been split in many places, and were kept together by small iron plates 
on each side, fixed by iron rivets : these plates, as well as their rude 
axes, of which each famity has one, are made of tempered iron by 
the smiths which belong to and journey with the tribe : 1 saw several 
of them at work : they burn small wood into charcoal, and carry it 
with them on camels: their anvil is made of a piece of iron a foot 
long, and pointed at the end — this they drive into the ground to work 
on; the head of the anvil is about six inches over: they make their 
fire in a small hole dug in the ground for that purpose, and blow it up 
by means of two skins curiously fixed : so that while one is filling with 
air. they blow with the other, standing between them — with a hand 
placed on each, they raise and depress them at pleasure. By means 
of a clumsy hammer, an anvil, and hot irons to bore with, they manage 
to fix the saddles for themselves to ride on, and to make knives and a 
kind of needles, and small rough bladed axes. This forge is carried 
about without the smallest inconvenience, so that the Arabs even of the 
desart are better provided in this respect than the Israelites were in 
the days of Saul their king, Samuel, chapter xiii. verses 19 to 23 — 
"Now there was no smith in all the land of Israel; for the Philistines 
said, Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears." 

There appeared to be no kind of sickness or disease among the 
Arabs of the desart during the time I was with them: I did not hear 
of, nor see the smallest symptom of complaint, and they appear to live 
to a vast age: there were three people I saw belonging' to the tribe in 
which 1 was a slave, namely, two old men and one woman, who from 
appearance were much older than any I had ever seen: these men and 
the woman had lost all the hair from their heads, beards, and every 
part of their bodies; the flesh on them had entirely wasted away, and 
their skins appeared to be dried and drawn tight over the sinews and 
the bones, like Egyptian mummies: their eyes were extinct, having 
totally wasted away in their sockets, the bones of which were only 
covered by their eye-lids : they had lost the use of all their limbs, and 
appeared to be deprived of every sense, so that when their breath should 
be spent and their entrails extracted, they would in my opinion be 
perfect mummies without further preparation; for from their appear- 
ance there was not sufficient moisture in their frames to promote cor- 



188 

juption; and J felt convinced, that a sight of such beings (probably on 
he desarts of Arabia) might have given the Egyptians their first idea 
of drying and preserving the dead bodies of their relations and friends. 
An undutiful child of civilized parents might here learn a lesson of 
filial piety and benevolence from these barbarians : the old people 
always received the first drink of milk, and a larger share than even the 
acting head of the family when they were scanted in quantity : when- 
ever the family moved forward, a camel was first prepared for the old 
man, by fixing a kind of basket on the animal's back ; they then put 
skins or other soft things into it, to make it easy, and next lifting up 
the old man, they place him carefully into the basket, with a child or 
two on each side, to take care of and steady him during the march, 
while he seems to sit and hold on, more from long habit than from 
choice. As soon as they stopped to pitch the tents, the old man was 
taken from his camel, and a drink of water or milk given him, for they 
take care to save some for that particular purpose. When the tent 
was pitched, he was carefully taken up and placed under it on their 
mat, where he could go to sleep : — this man's voice was very feeble, 
squeaking, and hollow. The remarkably old man 1 am speaking of 
belonged to a family that always pitched their tent near ours, so that 
I had an opportunity of witnessing the manner of his treatment for 
several days together, which was uniformly the same. 

After 1 was redeemed in Mogadore I asked my master Sidi Hamet 
of what age he supposed this old man to have been, and he said about 
eight Zille, or Arabic centuries. Now an Arabic century, or Zille, is 
forty lunar years of twelve moons in each year, so that by this com- 
putation he must have been nearly three hundred years old: he also 
told me, that it was very common to find Arabs, on different parts of 
the great desart, five Zille old, retaining all their faculties, and that 
he had seen a great many of the ages of from seven to eight Zille. 
He further said, that my old master from whom he bought me had lived 
nearly five Zille or centuries, though he was very strong and active; 
and from the appearance of a great many others in the same tribe, 1 
could have no doubt but they were much older. I then asked him 
how they knew their own ages, and he answered, " Every family keeps 
a record of the ages and names of its children, which they always pre- 
serve and pack up in the same bag in which they carry the Koran." 
Each family had a bag as large as a camel's skin, full of manuscripts, 
written on skins prepared for the purpose, resembling parchment, but 
not stiff; they were whole goat or sheep skins, covered on all sides 
by writing : one skin, I understood, contained the whole Koran. I 
told him that few people in other parts of the world lived to the age of 
two Zille and a half, and the people of those countries would not 
believe such a sjtory. 

"The Arabs who live on the desart (said he) subsist entirely on the 
milk of their camels ; it is the milk of an animal that we call sacred, 
and it causes long life : those who live on nothing else, have no sick- 
ness nor disorders, and are particularly favoured by heaven; but only 
carry the same people off from the desart, and let them live on meat, 
and bread, and fruits, they then become subject to every kind of pain 
and sickness when they are young, and only live to the age of about 
two Zille and a half at the most, while a great many die very young. 






OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 189 

and not one Jenth part of the men or women live to the age of ona 
Zille. I myself (added he) always feel well when I live on the milV 
of the camel ..lone, even though 1 do not get half as much as 1 want, 
for then [ am strong and can bear heat, and cold, and fatigue, much 
better than wuen I live on flesh, and bread, and fruit, and have plenty 
of good fresh water to drink, and if 1 could always have as much 
camels' milk as I could drink, I would never taste of meat again; but 
1 love bread and honey very much." This account from an Arab 
who was my friend and the preserver of my life, and one who had 
traversed the desart in many directions, and who was also a good 
scholar for an Arab, and on whose veracity I could rely, together with 
what fell undt-r my own observation, has removed all doubt from my 
mind on that subject, and 1 am fully of opinion, that a great many 
Arabs on this vast expanse of desart, actually live to the age of two 
hundred year.' and more of our calendar. My reasons for this belief, 
in addition to those already given, are, 

1st. That ueir lives are regular, from the day of their birth to the 
day of their death. 

2d. That tt.ere is no variation in their food, which is of the most 
pure and nutrtive kin J, and cannot cause in them disorders originating 
from indigestion, &c. &c. 

3d. That t^e climate they inhabit, though hot, is perfectly dry, and 
consequently must be healthy for those born there ; and, 

4th. That ;n their wandering life they are never subjected to hard 
bodily labour, and their daily movements afford them sufficient exer- 
cise to promote a due circulation of the fluids; nor do they ever taste 
wine or any ardent spirits, being entirely out of the way of those arti- 
cles, and are besides strictly forbidden by their religion. 1 am no 
physician, and cannot therefore enter into any learned disquisition on 
this subject, but merely give my own impressions respecting it, with- 
out pretendii.g to be less liable to err in judgment than others. It 
cannot be doubted but that the Arabs existed as a wandering race long 
before the tine of the Greeks, and it is possible that they possessed 
in those early ages the art of writing, and reckoned time by the same 
method they\lo at this day ; say forty lunar years for a Zille or cen- 
tury, and tha* in translating or quoting from their writings, a Zille may 
have been taken for a hundred of our years. 

The tribe of Arabs to which I belonged owned four horses, or 
rather mares : they were the general property, and were fed on milk, 
and watered i very two days : with these animals they hunt the ostrich, 
and with this view, having agreed on the time and place, the whole of 
the men asst-nhle before daylight on their camels, and surround a 
certain spot of ground where they calculate on finding ostriches, with 
the horses to vindward, and their riders with loaded muskets in their 
hands : they then approach each other until they start the ostriches, 
who seeing Memselves surrounded on all sides but one, run to the 
southward be r ore the wind, followed by the horses, which it is said run 
extremely swift, and pressing on the ostrich very hard, the bird runs 
himself out tf breath in about three hours, when the men on horse- 
back come up and shoot him : but let these birds run against the 
wind, and no horse can overtake them, for then they do not lose theif 
breath. 



190 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

After my arrival at Mogadore, 1 heard of the Heine, or small swift 
camel of the desart, blit 1 never saw any camel that differed from the 
common one either in size or shape, and can only suppose that it may 
be a camel of the same race trained for running swift, and fed on milk 
like the horses. The common camel can easily travel one hundred 
miles in a day. A good new milch camel gives at one milking when 
on the desart about one quart, which is very rich and good : this is be- 
sides what suffices to sustain the young Camel, and is drawn at mid- 
night — they only draw about a gill in the morning. 

Most of the Arabs are well armed with good double barrelled French 
fowling pieces, (which have excellent locks,) and with good scimitars 
and knives : each has a kind of bag to carry his slugs, &c. in, slung by 
his neck and hanging down to his waist on the left side : their big 
powder-horn is suspended in like manner : this contains coarse pow- 
der, and is used for loading the muskets, but they all have a little norn 
in which to carry their fine powder for priming. Many of the gun 
barrels that I saw were worn through, and the holes were stopped up 
by brazing: they have procured many of their guns, no doubt, by ship- 
wrecks on the coast of the desart ; many more from caravans that they 
have overpowered, and others in the way of trade from the French 
settlements of Senegal, and from Tunis, Tripoli, and other ports on 
the Mediterranean sea, and Morocco. 1 did not see a single Moorish 
musket or lock during the time I was among the Arabs of the desart : 
they were all made in Europe, and generally in Paris, with the maker's 
name on the locks. They have tolerably good powder, which they 
say they know how to manufacture, but do not make it fine, so that 
the first rate English or French musket powder is much in request, 
and looked upon as invaluable for priming. Their swords or scimi- 
tars they most probably obtain by the same means as their muskets, 
or from Turkey : they are ever ready to attack an inferior, or even an 
equal force, and fight for the sake of plunder. 

Their language is the ancient Arabic : is spoken with great fluency, 
and is distinguished for its powerful emphasis, and elegant cadence. 
When they converse peaceably, (and they are much given to talking 
with each other,) it thrills on the ear like the breathings of soft wind- 
music, and excites" in the soul the most soothing sensations ; but when 
they speak in anger, it sounds as hoarse as the roarings of irritated 
lions, or the most furious beasts of prey. They attack the small 
towns in the vicinity of the desart, on all sides ; which are walled in 
to ward off their incursions : if they are successful, they put all to the 
sword, burn the towns, and retire again to the desart with their spoil. 
Such is the wandering Arab of the great African desart : his hand is 
against every man, and consequently every man's hand is against him. 

DESCRIPTION OF AN ARABIAN CAMEL OR DROMEDARY. 

The Arabian camel, called by the ancients and by the naturalists 
the dromedary, is, perhaps, the most singular, and at the same time 
one of the most useful animals in nature. He is, when full grown, 
from eight to nine feet in height, and about twelve or fourteen feet in 
length, from rhe end of his nose to the root of his tail : his body is 
small, compared with his height : his neck resembles in shape that of 
a goose more than any other animal, being long and slender, and it 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 191 

seems to gr> jwout of the lower part of his body, between his fore legs 
he raises his head to the height of his back, poking his nose out hori- 
zontally, so that his face looks directly upwards, and his nose bone so 
high as to be on a Hue with the top of the bunch on his back : his 
head is small, his ears short : his eyes are of various colours, from a 
black to almost a white ; bright, and sparkling with instinctive intelli- 
gence, and placed on the sides of his head in such a manner that he 
can see oefore, behind, and one very side at the same time. His tail is 
short, and hangs like that of a cow, with a small bunch of hair at the 
end : his legs are long and slender, though their joints are stout and 
strong : his feet are divided something like those of an ox, but he has 
no hoof except on the extreme points of the toes — in other parts they 
are only covered with skin, and are soft and yielding : the soles of 
his feet are not thicker than stout sole leather : he is generally of a 
light ash colour, but varying from that to a dark brown, and sometimes 
a reddish brown : many of them are also marked with white spots or 
stripes on their foreheads, and on different parts of their bodies : the 
hair on his body is short and fine, like the finest of wool, and serves the 
Arabs instead of that necessary article, with which they make their tent 
cloth and coarse covering : it is pulled or else falls off once a year: the 
hair about the throat and on the hump is eight or ten inches in length, 
and hangs down : he has a high bunch on his back, which rises from 
his shoulders, and comes to a blunt point at about the centre of his 
back, and tapers off to his hips : this bunch is from one to two feet 
high above the back bone, and not attached to it nor to the frame of 
the camel, so that in skinning him the Arabs take off the bunch with 
it, which is largeror smaller, as the camel is fat or lean. He who rides 
on a camel without a saddle (which saddle is peculiarly constructed, 
so as not to touch the bunch) is forced to get on behind it, where the 
breadth of the body keeps the rider's legs extended very wide, while 
he is obliged to keep himself from slipping off over the beast's tail, 
by clenching both hands into the long hair that covers the bunch. 

The camel is a very tractable animal ; he lies down on his belly at 
the command of his master, folding his legs under him something like 
a sheep ; there he remains to receive his rider or his burthen, when he 
rises at a word, and proceeds in the way he is driven or directed, with 
the utmost docility and readiness, while his master encourages him by 
singing. The Arabs use neither bridle nor halter, but guide and 
manage the camel (whose head is quite at liberty) by means of a stick, 
assisted by words and sounds of the tongue ; having one sound to 
urge him on faster ; one to make him go slower ; and a third, which 
is a kind of cluck with the tongue to make him stop. He chews his 
cud like an ox, and has no fore teeth in his upper jaw ; but his lips 
are long and rough, so that he nips off the rugged shrubs without dif- 
ficulty, on which he is obliged to feed. The camel seems to have 
ben formed by nature to live on desarts : he is patient, fleet, strong, 
and hardy ; can endure hunger and thirst better than any other ani 
Dial : cmi travel through deep and dead sands with great ease, and 
over the flinty parts of the desart without difficulty, though it is hard 
for him to go up or down steep hills and mountains, and to travel on 
middy roads, as he slips about and strains himself; but he is sure- 
footed, and walks firmly on a hard dry surface, or on sand. I have 
12 



192 

never made the natural history of animals my study, and it cannot be 
expected that 1 should be acquainted with the particular formation ot 
their interior parts ; but 1 will venture to say a few words in regard to 
those of the camel, without fear of contradiction from any one who 
shall see and examine for himself, having assisted in butchering three 
camels while a slave. 

The camel is described by naturalists as having, besides the four 
stomachs common to ruminating animals, a fifth bag, exclusively as a 
reservoir for water, where it remains without corrupting or mixing with 
the other aliments : this is a mistake — for the bag that holds the water 
contains also the chewed herbage, and is in the camel what a paunch 
is in an ox. into this bag all the rough chewed herbage enters, where 
it is softened by the water, thrown again into the mouth, chewed over, 
and passes'off by another canal, and the feces are so dry that the day 
after they ^re voided, the Arabs strike fire on them instead of touch- 
wood or spunk. Having to draw water for these animals, 1 am certain 
that the largest sized ones drink at least two barrels of water at one 
time, when they have been long without it, and that the whole of the 
camels belonging to the tribe by whom I was made a slave, which were 
then at a well, did not again get a drop of water within twenty days : 
these camels were at least two thousand in number, and were then on 
one of the hottest and dryest parts of the great western desart, where 
there was scarcely a green leaf or shrub to be found, and their owners 
knew how far it was back to the same watering place at which myself 
and crew were seized, and to which they drove them again at the end 
of that period — and even that water was almost as black as ink, owing 
probably to its stagnant state in the well, and very brackish, because it 
filtered through the sand beach from the ocean, which was not more 
than three hundred yards from the well ; and these camels went twen- 
ty days without water under such circumstances ; and 1 have not the 
smallest doubt that they can go thirty or forty days without water be- 
fore they would die with thirst. At the end of fifteen days after wa- 
tering the camels, my old master, Mohammed Bessa, killed an old and 
very poor camel, and I was obliged to assist in dressing, though not 
in eating it, for its flesh, bones, and intestines, were divided among the 
whole tribe ; a small piece to each family: they cut open the paunch 
of this camel, (for he had no other bag to contain water,) and dipped 
out the contents, though thick with fueces, in order to boil the intes- 
tines in it, as well as to drink. When my master, Sidi Hamet, killed 
a camel to give me and my companions some meat, and procure some- 
thing to sustain us on our journey across the desart, the paunch was 
rolled out of the camel, and the water taken from it, thick as it was, to 
boil the uncleansed intestines. After drinking this stuff, we put the 
remainder (about two gallons) with the filth it contained, into one of 
our bottles, or goat skins, and it served to sustain life, though the most 
rank and nauseous both to the smell and taste that can be imagined. 
These bottles sufficiently explain why Christ said, " Put new wine 
into new bottles," in order to preserve both, as an old skin bag, being 
in scripture termed a bottle, is evidently weaker than anew one, and 
more liable to burst during the fermentation of its contents. 

The camel is considered by the Arab as a sacred animal : with him 
he can transport a load of merchandise of several hundred weight with 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 193 

certainty and celerity through desarts utterly impassable with any 
other animal : on him the wandering Arab can flee with his family 
from any enemy, across the trackless waste, one hundred miles or more 
ir a single day if he wishes, and out of the reach of his pursuers, for 
the desart, like the ocean, neither retains nor discloses any trace of 
the traveller. Its milk is both food and drink for the whole family, 
and when they have a sufficiency of that article, they are contented, 
and desire nothing more : with his camel the Arab is perfectly inde- 
pendent, and can bia defiance to all the forces that civilized or un- 
civilized foes can send against him : with him they collect in strong 
bands, all well armed, and fall upon the caravans, slaying without 
mercy all they can overpower, and divide their spoil : should they 
meet with a repulse, they can flee and soon be out of sight : they also 
attack the settlements and small walled townsin the cultivated country 
near the desart, and if strong enough, destroy all the inhabitants, and 
drive off the cattle : all the goods of the slain they carry away on 
their camels, and return to the desart, where no force can pursue them 
without meeting with certain destruction. 

The camel's motions are extremely heavy and jolting : his legs being 
long, he steps a great distance, and though he appears to go slowly 
when on a walk, yet he proceeds at about the rate of four miles an 
hour, and it is difficult for a man to keep pace with him without run- 
ning. When the camel trots, he goes very fast ; the small trot being 
about six, and the great one about eight miles an hour — this they can 
do with great ease with light loads for a whole day together, and will re- 
plenish their stomachs at night with the leaves and twigs of the sullen 
thorn-bush, that is barely permitted by nature to vegetate in that most 
dreary and desolate of all regions. The flesh of the camel is good 
for food; and that of the young ones is esteemed preferable to that of 
the ox : they bring forth a single young one at a time, and generally 
once in about two years, their time of gestation being about one year. 
When the camel is in heat, he is extremely vicious, so that none dare 
come near him : they are said to pair like doves, and not to rutve pro- 
miscuous intercourse like horses, neat cattle, &c. The formation of 
the camel, in one particular, resembles that of a horse, but it has a 
contrary direction, so that the water is voided behind ; and when obey- 
ing one of the most important instincts of nature, he is obliged to 
make his approach in a retrograde manner. In the year 1804, 1 was 
in the island of Lanzarote, one of the Canaries, and loaded my vessel 
(the brig Eliza and Mary, of New-York) with barilla, which 1 carried 
to Belfast, in Ireland ; — the barilla is brought from the interior of the 
island to the port, on camels, from whose backs I received and weighed 
it. Their common loads were from nine to twelve quintals of one 
hundred pounds ; but many loads overran that weight, and one load in 

Iiarticular weighed over fifteen hundred pounds. Those were the same 
tind of camels used in Barbary, and on the desart, and indeed I never 
saw any other kind : they are said to come to their full growth in six 
or eight years, and to live in many instances, to the age of fifty or sixty 



194 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE, 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

Some account of Suse, or South Barbary,and of its inhabitants, cili* 
fyc. — thep~imitive plough and mode of using it — primitive churn,&x.d 
method of making butter. 

The country of Suse, or South Barbary, is bounded by the Moorish 
province of Hah-Hah, on the east, by the Atlas mountains and the 
great desart, south, and by the Atlantic ocean on the north and west : 
its length from east to west is about two hundred and fifty miles ; its 
breadth from north to south one to two hundred miles. In coming 
from the desart, its principal towns are, Waldeleim, which is said to be 
very large and strong, and to contain ten thousand inhabitants. Akka 
is much the largest town in Suse, and its inhabitants are computed by 
the Arabs at thirty thousand. Widnoon is said to contain twenty 
thousand. Schelem contains four thousand. Stuka, where I was shut 
up a slave, does not appear to be a principal town, but is made up of a 
cluster of small ones, nor could I learn the names of the many little 
towns or castles, in sight of which I passed coming up. Suse was 
formerly a kingdom, and was afterwards united to those of Morocco 
and Fez, which now forms the Moorish empire : it has, however, be- 
come entirely independent, for though the emperor of Morocco claims 
jurisdiction over the whole of Suse, and indeed of the whole desart as 
far south as Soudan, yet all those countries are in fact independent, 
and the emperor's power extends only a few leagues south and west, 
from a line drawn through Santa Cruz or Agader, and Tarudant, 
southeast to the Atlas. 

The soil of this country is very rich and fruitful : here wheat, barley, 
and Indian corn, or maize, are cultivated, and most kinds of kitchen 
garden vegetables thrive with great luxuriance; the date, fig, pome- 
granate, olive, orange, lemon, sweet and bitter almond, arga, and 
many other fruit and forest trees, thrive exceedingly well, and pro- 
duce, it is said, great abundance in their seasons : the gum arabic and 
sanderach are also produced there in great quantities. The country 
being speckled over with small cities, towns, and castles, all strongly 
walled in with stone, laid in clay, is calculated to remind one of the 
times of the feudal system; each place is under the government of 
its own chief, who is by common consent the head of the family : 
they are under a kind of patriarchal government, and each individual 
feels himself perfectly free and independent. Jn case of attack or 
danger, all unite for the general defence, under such leaders as shall 
have proved themselves brave, enterprising, and worthy of command : 
and by this means they are enabled to secure themselves, in some 
measure, against the frequent inroads and insults of the wandering 
Arabs, who inhabit the great desart in their vicinity, and to repel the 
more formidable attacks of the forces of the Moorish emperor. They 
raise great numbers of camels, horses, asses, mules, oxen, goats, and 
sheep, which are guarded by their negro slaves, (of whom they have 
many) or by the young boys, and they are driven into their towns or 
castles every night, to prevent their being surprised and carried off by 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 195 

the Arabs, or other predatory neighbours : their horses are very hand- 
some, strong, and fleet, of the real Arabian kind, and very high spirited 
The inhabitants are of a tawny colour, like the Moors, though nol 
quite so dark, ar; \ 1 was informed they were principally descendants 
of the ancient ioi bitants of the country before it was overrun by the 
Arabs or Saracens : they are in their persons about five feet eight or 
nine inches in height, stout built, robust, and athletic, and are very 
straight limbed: they have rather a round visage, with prominent 
features, black hair, sharp pointed noses, and great bushy beards : 
their eyes are black, but not so lively, expressive, or intelligent, as 
those of the Arabs: their mouths are wide, and their lips plump. 
Their dress consists of a kind of shirt made of blue Guinea or linen 
cloth, or coarse white muslin, that passes over their shoulders, and 
falls down near their knees, but without sleeves : over this, they wear 
a haick or blanket made of woolen cloth, of about five yards in length, 
and an ell in width : this they wrap round them ; some of them also 
wear the cloak, or sulam, and Moorish trowsers ; aud have on their 
heads either turbans or white cotton cloth, or a fold of their haick. 
The heads of the men are generally shaved smooth, at least once « 
month: their women, like those of the Moors, are not to be seen bjji 
the men, except their husbands or fathers : the men are very indus- 
trious, and work their land by ploughing it up with a plough formed 
out of the trunk of a tree, hewn sharp to a point that projects about 
two feet forward, from a stout crooked limb, that serves as a beam to 
the plough; while a smaller, and particularly formed limb, is used as 
a handle to steady and govern it. In order to fix their animals to the 
plough, they first attach them together, say a cow and an ass, (for 
this seemed to make a favourite pair, and I observed a great many 
such pairs, yoked together) by fastening a rope round the horns of the 
cow, and about the nose of the ass, in form of a halter: they next 
place a short piece or stick of wood, hollowed out like one end of an 
ox yoke across the neck of each animal, and fasten it by means of 
a rope tied to one end of the stick; this going round under their 
necks, is made fast to the other end of the short yoke; they then run 
a long pole through under their bellies, just behind their fore legs, 
and fasten it there by means of two ropes, like the draw ropes or 
traces of a horse's harness : these are fixed to the rope that goes round 
the animal's neck at one end, and the pole under their bellies serves 
for a yoke, and projects out a foot or two on each side : to the centre 
of this pole, the end of the plough beam is lashed fast. The point 
which enters the ground, is hewn in a triangular shape, but the edges 
soon wear off, so that it becomes nearly round. In loamy and sandy 
soils they plough with the naked wood, but in stony places they point 
it with a round piece of iron, tapering to a sharp point that lets on 
with a socket: it turns up the earth on both sides, and goes into the 
ground about eight inches deep. The people of Suse. and those of 
Morocco, use only one pair of beasts, whatever they may be, and have 
Lines hading from the heads of the animals into the hands of him who 
steadies the plough, by means of which he directs and governs them: 
he also carries a thick stick sufficiently long to reach them with a 
sharp-pointed iron like a spear in its end; by the help of whicn he 
pricks and goads his beasts along at pleasure. This instrument is an 



196 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

ox goad, and no doubt is similar to those spoken of in Sacred Writ — 
1st Samuel iii. 1. But these Moors do not obey that part of the law 
of Moses; " Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together." 
See 22d chapter of Deuteronomy, 10th verse, except by sometimes 
substituting a cow instead of an ox. This, I imagine, was the primi- 
tive plough, or something very near it, and the first method hit upon 
for using it. 

I have also promised to treat of the primitive churn, and manner of 
making butter, which is simply this. The Arabs, or people who 
inhabited the country near the niver Euphrates, as long ago as the 
time of Abraham, the father of the Jews, and probably much earlier, 
knew the use of the camel, and actually kept him in a domestic state : 
they would very naturally feed on its milk, and they, no doubt, in 
those days, made use of the same means to carry their milk about 
with them, that the wandering Arabs do at present — that is, whatever 
milk is left of what the family has been using over night or in the 
morning, is put into a goat skin, or some other skin, and slung on a 
camel to serve for drink in the heat of the day ; thus equipped, they 
set off together: and when they stop to take refreshment, or to pitch 
their tent, they find a lump of butter in the milk; for the violent and 
continued agitation, occasioned by the heavy motions of the camel, 
has churned, or forced it to produce butter: this simple method was 
suggested to my mind by seeing a lump of butter in my old master's 
milk bag, when we were wandering on thedesart, and this must, with- 
out doubt, have been the first mode found out by chance of making 
butter; for what reason would he have, who had never seen such a 
thing as butter, for supposing milk could be converted into that sub- 
stance, more than any other fluid? For a further illustration of this 
subject, and a view of the camel, see plate, figure 7, copied from an 
original drawing by the author. 

The country of Suse, altogether, resembles the narrow country as 
described in Holy Writ, called the land of Canaan : its vast number of 
small cities, or rather castles, with high and strong walls, with gates 
and bars, each under its own sovereign, must be similar to the cities 
there described, as taken and destroyed by the Jews, (together with 
their kings) soon after they emerged from the desarts of Arabia, under 
the command of their chieftain and prophet, Joshua, and have, doubt- 
less, been constructed for the same purpose; i. e. to guard against 
the irruptions of the wandering inhabitants of the contiguous desarts, 
&,c. The inhabitants are brave and warlike: all well armed with 
single barrelled muskets, stocked and mounted in the Moorish man- 
ner, and with Moorish locks ; they have also knives, daggers, scimi- 
tars, and swords, and are the best of horsemen : they seldom or ever 
go out of their little cities unarmed; but like the wandering Arab on 
the desart, they are completely equipped either for offence or defence, 
even when they go to visit their nearest friends. They are said to be, 
like the Arabs, warm and sincere in their friendship ; in their enmi- 
ties implacable, cruel, and revengeful; and in trade, cunning and 
deceitful. 

The whole number of inhabitants in Suse, including white and 
black slaves, is estimated at more than one million: they are all strict 
observers of the Mohammedan doctrine and ceremonies, and appear to 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 19"* 

be enthusiasts in religion, though like the Moors they are not gene- 
rally taught the arts of reading and writing, and are in consequence 
considered by the wandering Arabs much beneath them in acquire- 
ments, as well as in point of natural abilities. Their language is the 
corrupt Arabic, not easily understood by the Arabs of the desart, who 
pretend to speak and write that ancient and beautiful language in its 
greatest purity. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

Some account of an insurrection in Morocco — The Bashaw of Swearah 
is seized and put in irons — change of governors — the Jews are forced 
to pay their tribute or turn Mohammedans — their treatment by the 
Moors — a Jew burial — a circumcision — a Jewish Priest arrives from 
Jerusalem — the author obtains from him some account of the present 
Jerusalem, and its inhabitants, and of the method pursued by the 
priests for getting money from the Jews in Europe and in Barbary— 
a Moorish execution and maiming — of the Jews in West Barbary. 

There had been an insurrection in the province of Duquella the 
last year, (1815) which had spread itself into the provinces of Abdah 
and Siedmah, and was said to have originated from a false report of 
the emperor's death. Tlfe governor or Bbshaw of these provinces, 
whose name was Mohammed ben Absedik, resided in Swearah, and 
had been a Bashaw and a man of great power during nearly the whole 
reign of Muley Soliman, the present emperor — he was the officer be- 
fore whom I was carried on my arrival at Swearah, or Mogadore. 1 
was informed that be had used all the means in his power to quell this 
insurrection, but could not succeed until the emperor joined him with 
an army of thirty thousand men, when a most desperate battle was 
fought, which terminated in the destruction of more than fifteen thou- 
sand of the rebels, and the remainder were reduced to unconditional 
submission. The whole of their flocks, herds, and substance, fell into 
the hands of the Sultan, or rather his black troops, who showed them 
not the least mercy, but seized on the wretched fugitives wherever 
they could be found, massacred many thousands, and carried those 
that remained of the revolters, with their families, into the provinces 
that had not rebelled, where they were distributed as slaves. 

This war being thus terminated, Mohammed ben Absedik had re- 
turned in triumph to Mogadore, or Swearah, a few days previous to 
my arrival there, when he caused presents to be made to him, as if he 
had taken possession of a new government. In the mean time the death 
of the Sultan's first minister, named Ben Slmoy. was announced : he 
had been the firm friend of Mohammed ben Absedik, and with the aid 
of Muley a Tea, (the Sultan's princely tea maker,) who was always 
about his person, managed the whole affairs of the Moorish empire. 
Ben Slowy being dead, and Miuley a Tta sent to Fez to transact the 
imperial business in that quarter, the emperor then at Morocco, the 
enemies of Mohammed ben Absedik, (for he had been long in power, 
and had a host of them) found means to transmit heavy complaints to 



< 



198 CAPTAIN RILET'S NARRATIVE. 

the Sultan against him, (Ben Absedik) and his administration, who 
perceiving the cloud lowering upon him, set out for Morocco about the 
20th of November, 1815, hoping oy an early interview with the em- 

Seror, to dispel the impending storm — he had only been gone from 
logadore, or Swearah four days, when late in the evening a new go- 
vernor arrived, accompanied by six hundred horsemen. The gates 
had been shut for the night ; the brother of the Bashaw was civil 
governor of the city and port : the emperor's order was sent to him 
over the wall ; — the gates were soon opened, and the new governor, 
oir alcayd, entered amidst the general and joyful acclamations of the 
inhabitants, both Moors and Jews. These ignorant and discontented 
people \ever fond of change) flattered themselves that this arrange- 
ment would be for the better, and in the morning all were ready to pre- 
fer complaints against their former governor, when they waited on the 
new one, and made their customary presents. This governor took 
charge of the civil affairs of the city and the custom-house, in the 
room of Ajjh Hamet, (or Hamet the pilgrim,) the Bashaw's brother, 
who was ordered to repair with his family to Morocco, and set out for 
that city the next day, accompanied by a strong guard of black troops. 
In the evening of the same day, a commander of the troops, or 
military governor, arrived : he was a black man, and had three hun- 
dred horsemen for an escort, all of the same colour : he was received 
with considerable pomp, and took on himself the immediate command. 
We now learned that Mohammed ben Absedik had been put in irons 
on his arrival at Morocco, and sent off to Fez, and that all his proper- 
ty was seized by order of the Sultan, as soon as it could be found. 
" New lords, new laws," says the old adage : — a small vessel had ar- 
rived from Gibraltar — no goods could be landed — new duties were an- 
nounced, and new regulations, by which no vessel was allowed to be 
supplied with provisions except for daily consumption : the duties and 
impositions to be paid every day amounted to more than the first cost 
of the articles consumed. 

The Moors, who had rejoiced at the fall of the old Bashaw and civil 
governor, or alcayd, soon changed their tone, and began to wish them 
back again : all the Moors in the town, up to that time, were consider- 
ed as imperial soldiers or sailors, and accordingly received a monthly 
allowance out of the Beetle me//, or treasury — this was now ordered to 
be stopped from the white Moors, but that all the black Moors, or negro 
troops, should be paid double : new officers were appointed, and many 
of the old ones confined and sent to Morocco, or despoiled of their 
property. The Christian merchants residing there, four in number, 
were obliged to make costly presents to the new governor. The 
Christians are, William Willshire, Esq. my deliverer, of the house of 
Dupuyand Willshire, the most respectable there in point of property, 
as well as on every other account, being connected in business with 
James Renshmo fy Co. of London, and George Allardyce & Co. of 
Gibraltar, both houses of long standing and great respectability ; — 
Don Estevan Leonardi, and his nephew, Don Antonio, French, Por- 
tuguese, and Genoese consular agents ; — Don Pablo Riva, a respec- 
table Genoese, and Alexander W. Court, and Mr. John Foxcroft. 
The Jews, that were overjoyed at the recent change, soon turned their 
joy into mourning, when they received, a day or two after, an order to 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 199 

pay their Gazitr, or yearly tribute to the Sultan : the order was for 
about three thousand five hundred dollars, including expenses, (for 
the Moor who brought the order must be paid,) in a gross sum 10 be 
raised directly : the gates of the J ws' town, or Miliah, were imme- 
diately closed upon them, nor were any suffered to go out until the 
money was forthcoming. 

The whole number of Jews here does not probably exceed six 
thousand souls, and they are very poor : the priests or rabbies soon 



accori 



convened them in their synagogues, and apportioned the tax 
ing to their law; they were classed thus: the four Jew merchants, 
Ben Guidallas, Macnin, Abilbol, and Zagury, formed the first class, and 
I was told their share was two thousand dollars or more ; the Cew petty 
traders the second, the mechanics the third, and the lowest order of 
miserable labourers the fourth class : the priests and rabbies (who are 
a great proportion of their number) were of course exempted, as the 
other classes support them at all times : not a Jew, either man, wo- 
man, or child, was allowed to go out of their town for three days, ex- 
cept they were wanted by the Moors or Christians to work, and not 
then without an order from the alcayd. 

During this period I visited the Jews' town several times, but nevei 
without seeing more or less of these miserable wretches knocked down 
like bullocks by the gate-keepers, with their large canes, as thev at- 
tempted to rush past them, when the gates were opened, to procure a 
little water or food for their hungry and thirsty families. On the fourth 
day, when the arrangements had been made by the priests and elders, 
they sent word to the governor, and the three first classes were order- 
ed before him to pay their apportionment. 1 knew of it, because 1 
was informed by Mr. Wiltshire's interpreter and broker, who was a Jew 
of considerable understanding, named Ben Nahory — he was one of the 
committee of arrangement to wait, on the governor. I wished to see 
the operation, and went near the house of the alcayd for that purpose. 
The* Jews soon appeared by classes ; as they approached, they put 
off their slippers, took their money in both their hands, and holding 
them alongside each other, as high as the breast, came slowly forward 
to the talb, or Mohammedan scrivener, appointed to receive it; he took 
it from them, hitting each one a smart blow with his fist on his bare 
forehead, by way of a receipt for his money, at which the Jews said, 
Nahma Siai, (thank you, my lord,) and retired to give place to his 
companion. 

Thus they proceeded through the three first classes without much 
difficulty, when the fourth class was forced up with big sticks: this 
class was very numerous, as well as miserable: they approached very 
unwillingly, and were asked, one by one, if they were ready to pay 
their gazitr: when one said, yes, he approached as the others had 
done, paid his money, took a similar receipt, and then went about his 
business; he that said, no, he could not, or was not ready, was seized 
instantly by the Moors, who throwing him flat on his face to the ground, 
gave him about fifty blows with a thick stick upon his back and pos- 
teriors, and conducted him away, I was told, into a dungeon, under a 
bomb proof battery, next the western city wall, facing the ocean : there 
were many served in this way — the Jews' town was all this time strongly 
guarded and strictly watched. At the end of three days more, I was 



200 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

informed that those who were confined in the dungeon were brought 
forth, but I did not see them : the friends of some of these poor crea- 
tures had made up the money, and they were dismissed; whilst the 
others, after receiving more stripes, were remanded and put in irons. 
Before the next three days had expired, many of them changed their 
religion, were received by the Moors as brothers, aud were taken to 
the mosque, and highly feasted, but were held responsible for the last 
tax notwithstanding. The four above-named Jew merchants, in Swea- 
rah or Mogadore, live in high style; .are absolute in the Jews' town, 
and manage nearly all the English trade at Mogadore: at present, 
their stores are allowed to be kept in the fortress part of the town, or 
d Ksebbah. where Guidallas and Macrin are permitted to reside and 
stay at nignt, by paying a handsome sum to government: Guidallas 
wears European cut clothing, the others the Jew dress. 

1 had the pleasure to see two brigs arrive from England, and to 
receive a letter from Mr. Simpson at Tangier, and a kind letter from 
Mr. Sprague at Gibraltar, which are before mentioned and 'nserted. 
Two days after the arrival of these vessels from London, the one com 
manded by captain Mackay, and the other by captain Henderson, 1 
went down to the water port to see these gentlemen when they should 
land in the morning: on my arrival there, I saw a great concourse of 
soldiers, and on inquiring the cause, found that an execution was 
about to take place, and some malefactors were at the same time to 
be maimed. The governor arrived at this moment, and the prisoners 
were driven in with their hands tied : the order for punishment was 
read by the Cadi or Judge, and the culprits told to prepare them- 
selves, which they did by saying, Hi el Allah Sheda Mohammed Rah- 
sool Allah, and worshipping. They were then made to sit down in a 
line upon their legs on the ground: a butcher next came forward with 
a sharp knife in his hand ; he seized the first in the line on the left, by 
the beard, with his left hand ; two men were at the same time hold- 
ing the prisoner's hands: the butcher began cutting very leisurely 
with his knife round the neck, (which was a very thick one,) and kept 
cutting to the bones until the flesh was separated ; he then shoved the 
head violently from side to side, cutting in with the point of the knife 
to divide the sinews, which he seemed to search out among the streams 
of blood, one by one : he finally got the head off, and threw it on a 
mat that was spread to receive the mutilated limbs of the others. 
There were eight more who were sentenced to lose a leg and an arm 
each, and nine to lose only one arm. The butcher began to amputate 
the legs at the knee joint, by cutting the flesh and sinews round with 
his knife, which he sharpened from time to time on a stone : he would 
then part the joint by breaking it short over his knee, as a butchef 
would part the joint in the leg of an ox. Having in this manner got 
off the leg, and thrown it on the mat, he proceeded to take off the arm 
at the elbow, in the same leisurely and clumsy manner; he seemed, 
however, to improve by practice, so that he carved off the hands of the 
last eight at their wrists, in a very short time — this done, they next 
proceeded to take up the arteries, and apply a plaister, which was soon 
accomplished by dipping the stumps into a kettle of boiling pitch that 
stood near, or something that had the same appearance and smell. Is 
Aot this last circumstance an improvement in surgery 7 They then 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 201 

carried the lifeless trunk and mutilated bodies, with the head and other 
limbs, to the market : the head and limbs were carried on a mat by- 
six men, who were making as much sport as possible, for the specta- 
tors : the bcd.ies were thrown across jack asses, and they were ex- 
posed in the most public part of the market place, nearly the whole 
day. The two governors, and other officers who were present during 
the execution of the sentence, were sitting on the ground next to a 
wall, appearing quite unconcerned, and were conversing gaily on other 
subjects. The Moors, who came from mere curiosity, did not shew 
the least mark of disapprobation, or any signs of horror : they jested 
with the butcher, who seemed highly gratified with the part he was 
acting. 

1 now asked Rais bel Cossini, who attended me, concerning the 
mode of procuring an executioner, &c. &c. He told me, that when 
an order came to execute or maim any culprits, it generally embraced 
several at the same time, so as to make but one job of it: that the 
butchers were called on by the alcayd or governor, and forced to find 
one out of their number to do this work : that they then made up a 
purse agreeably to a rule, made among themselves in such cases; 
that is, two and a half ducats per man for cutting off heads, and two 
ducats per man for maiming ; (two and a half ducats make one dol- 
lar, or forty cents per ducat;) they then question each other to know 
who will accept of the money, and do the job : if no one appears will- 
ing, they cast lots, and the one on whom it falls, is obliged to undertake 
it: this man is protected by the governor for twenty-four hours after 
the execution, when he is left to take care of himself, brave the public 
odium, and the revenge of the friends of the sufferer; or else to fly: 
lie generally goes off the first night afterwards to some other place, 
and never returns : his wife, if he has one-, can be divorced from him 
by applying to the Cadi or Judge, and swearing, that as her husband 
has served as an executioner, she is afraid to live with him, lest he 
should be tempted to commit some violence on her, in a similar way. 

The butcher who acted on the present occasion, was a voluntary 
executioner for forty-eight ducats, and he decamped the next night, 
leaving, as I was informed, a wife and seven children to shift for them- 
selves: he was poor, and carried away his wages of death with. him. 
Mr. Willshire and Don Pab'o Riva, confirmed this statement,- sub- 
stantially. 

Taking a walk round the walls of the city one day, to make obser- 
vations on it at low water, in company with Mr. Savage, and being 
escorted by a Moor, in order to protect us from insults, we came to 
the Jews' burial place : it is situated a little without the walls, and on 
the north side of the city, near the ruins of a couple of wind-mills, 
which I was informed, used to do all the grinding for the city; but 
this work is now performed in the town by horse-mills. On our ap- 
proach, we observed a great concourse of Jew women, and heard a 
great outcry : curiosity led us to the spot where they were collected : 
here was a newly dug grave, and the dead body of a man lying on the 
ground near it, enveloped in a cotton wrapper, with his face partly 
covered : some men were busied in clearing out and preparing the 
c;rave; others had brought and were bringing lime, mortar, and stones, 
a fill it up with : whilst upwards of one hundred women were stand- 



202 

ing in a circle eastward of the grave, howling in an extraordinary 
manner. On a nearer approach, 1 observed abont a dozen women ill 
raftered garments, who formed an inner circle. As I gazed with pity 
on this spectacle, these twelve women, who were before quiet, seemed 
ro be seized with a sudden paroxysm of grief, and they began to 
approach each other with their hands uplifted above their heads ; 
stretching the palms towards each other's faces, and commenced howl- 
ing, at first moderately, but which soon increased to wailings the most 
violent, and yellings that it is impossible to describe ; they tore their 
faces with their long finger-nails, and made the most hideous contor- 
tions of their features : the mania was now communicated to all the 
women present, who joined in the lamentation, but the others did not 
tear their faces like the twelve, who kept it up, stamping with their feet, 
and going round in their circle ; their blood and perspiration mixing 
together, and streaming from their faces, ran all over their filthy gar- 
ments, and dyed them red in streaks from head to foot : this paroxysm 
lasted fifteen or twenty minutes, when they were so much exhausted 
as to be under the necessity of ceasing for a few moments, to take 
breath, when they commenced again, and went over the same cere- 
mony, seemingly with redoubled vigour. The grave being at last 
ready, the body was put in by the men, who then built up over it a 
wall of mason work, even with the surface of the ground. The grave 
was dug in a direction north and souths the head was placed towards 
the south, and space enough left on one side of the body to support 
the weight of the mason-work, without bearing upon the corpse : they 
next rolled a stone on it, formed of lime and small pebbles about two 
feet square, and as long as the grave ; this they placed level on a bed 
of lime mortar, and then retired without speaking, except as much as 
was necessary to prompt mutual assistance : the women all this time 
keeping up their howlings. After the men had retired, the women 
ceased their wailings, and seating themselves alongside the wind-mill, 
were refreshed by eating cakes, and drinking copious draughts of 
anniseed, Jew brandy, which had been previously prepared for the 
purpose, and they soon became as merry in reality, as they had before 
appeared to be sad. While these women were regaling themselves in 
this manner, I observed an old woman washing the corpse of a child 
of about two years old, in the surf: she then wrapped it up in a dirty 
piece of woollen cloth, and carried it to a man who had been digging 
a hole for it in the side of another grave, where he shoved it in ; put a 
flat stone before it ; filled up the hole with stone and lime, and went 
away: one woman only attended the burial of the child, besides her 
who wrapped it up; and this must have been its mother, as I judged 
from her emotions : she sobbed aloud, while an abundance of tears 
trickled down her wo-worn, and furrowed cheeks. I concluded she 
was poor and a widow : not a soul seemed to join her, or pay the least 
attention to her grief: after a short pause, she kissed passionately the. 
stone that covered, I presume, the remains of both her husband and 
child ; wet it with her tears ; wiped it with a clean white cloth she had 
in her hand, and returned weeping, amid the brutal scoffs of the 
Moorish boys, as she dragged herself along towards her cheerless 
abode. The women who had assisted at the other burial, had by this 
time ended their repast, and they went round amongst the graves • 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 203 

many kissed their hands and laid them on the grave-stones of their 
deceased relations, while others kissed the rude resemblance of a face 
carved on the stone : others plucked up the weeds and grass that 
encroached on thr? grave, or replaced the earth and small stones which 
had been dug out by the rats, or broken off by the corroding tooth 
of time. 

On my way home to Mr. Willshire's house, 1 learned that the 
corpse of the man that was buried, was that of a rabbi, who was poor, 
and had not been able for a iong time to perform the duties of his 
office, and was buried by charity; 1 also learned from Ben Nahory, 
Mr. Willshire's interpreter, that a priest, or rabbi, had arrived from 
Jerusalem, to gather the tribute paid yearly by all tl e Jews in Barbary, 
towards the support of the few Jewish priests, or Levites, who are 
permitted to reside in Jerusalem, by paying a tribute to the Grand 
Seignior, or Sultan of the Turkish empire, and for purposes of traffic : 
this is called a voluntary contribution for the support of Jerusalem. 
All the Jews in these countries believe that their nation is one day to 
sway the sceptre of universal dominion, and that Jerusalem must be 
kept as a kind of possession until the time arrives predicted by their 
prophets, when the little stone is to be cut out without hands from the 
mountain of Jerusalem, and is to fill the whole earth. This and other 
predictions, constantly and adroitly handled by their crafty teachers, 
together with the miseries inflicted on the Jews in Barbary by the 
merciless Moors, tend to nurse their natural superstitions, and render 
them completely subservient to the will of those who are considered 
their spiritual guides, and who rob them without mercy, under the 
pretext of applying the money to good purposes. 

A schooner arrived from Gibraltar under the English flag, though 
a Genoese vessel, as the Barbary powers were at war with Genoa: she 
brought a cargo of dry goods, iron, steel, cotton, &c. to Ben Zagury, 
a Jew: one of his sons came passenger in the vessel; his name was 
Elio Zagury; he was a young Jew, was dressed in the European 
fashion, had been educated in England, and spoke the English lan- 
guage fluently. As soon as he had seen his father, he called on Mr. 
Willshire, and to see me; expressed great joy at my deliverance, and 
invited Mr. Willshire, myself, and Mr. Savage, to dine with him at his 
father's the next Saturday : the invitation was accepted, because I 
wanted to learn some of the Jewish customs, and get acquainted witn 
the priest from Jerusalem, who was a guest in his father's house. On 
our arrival there, I was presented to the priest: he was a man of mid- 
dling stature, dark complexion, short hair, and a most venerable, 
manly beard, that reached down nearly to his ceinture, or girdle: his 
dress was a brown striped mantle, that buttoned close round his neck, 
and fell loosely to his feet, on which he had a pair of black slippers, 
down at the heel, as is the custom of Moorish Jews : his head was 
covered with a cambiet coloured turban, very high : in his hand he held 
i string of very large beads, which he was continually counting or 
.elling over: his mantle was girt above his hips with a brown silk gir- 
dle that took several turns round him; and was about six inches wide. 
I accosted him in Spanish, which he spoke very fluently — and made 
inquiries of him respecting the present city of Jerusalem and its in 
habitants. From his answers (as he was very intelligent^ J learner! 



204 

thttt Jerusalem now contains thirty thousand Turks, and twenty thou 
sand Jews, Armenians, and Greeks: that a very brisk trade is carried 
on there, principally by Jews, between it, Persia, Constantinople, and 
Jaffa, which Jews are permitted to reside there and trade, on paying a 
tribute to the Grand Seignior: ihat the language mostly spoken by 
the Jews and Christians at Jerusalem is the Spanish: that there is i 
convent of Christian monks near it, containing a number of St. Fran- 
cisco's order, &c. 

The walls of Jerusalem are strong and well built: all religious deno- 
minations are there tolerated by paying contributions, and protected 
by order of the Grand Seignior, provided they pay the soldiers well 
for their trouble. The name of this priest was Abraham ben Nassar : 
he said he should get about twenty thousand dollars from the Jews in 
the Moorish dominions, and carry the amount of contributions in gold, 
embarking again at Tangier for Gibraltar, where he should deposit the 
money while he went to England, France, Holland, and Germany, 
for the same purpose : that there were six more associated with him 
on the collecting expeditions : one of them had gone to Alexandria, 
and other parts of Egypt, to collect from the Jews there, from whence 
he would return by way of the different islands in the Archipelago: 
one had sailed for Tripoli, who would take money from the Jews there 
and at Malta; thence to Italy and back; one had gone to Tunis and 
its various towns, and would go from thence to Sicily and Sardinia, 
and back ; one had gone to Algiers and the towns in that regency, 
and would go from thence to ancient Greece, including Venice, and 
that part of Germany bordering on the Venetian gulf; one had gone 
over land to Russia, and would meet him in Germany, after passing 
through Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Prussia, &c. 1 wished to have 
an estimate of the sums likely to be collected in all those places, and 
then he began to be a little reserved. However, after considerable 
conversation and solicitation, he one day gave me what he stated to be 
the amount of collections as per the last returns of 1813, which he had 
with him in Hebrew, and I set it down as he interpreted, after he had 
first brought the several sums into Spanish dollars ; it made up in the 
countries already mentioned, five hundred and eighty thousand dol- 
lars ; this was exclusive of the expenses of collecting, and travelling 
out and returning again to Jerusalem. Many individuals of the priests 
also came from Jerusalem to Barbary, begging on their own account. 
Out of this fand a yearly tribute is paid to the Grand Seignior, besides 
impositions in the form of presents to the Turkish officers ; and the 
remainder serves to support the rabbies, who are very numerous in 
Jerusalem, and for commercial purposes : thus the superstition and 
credulity of the ignorant Jews in all Europe and Africa, as well as in 
Asia, are made subservient to the purposes of the elders of that sin- 
gular people, who still reside, by permission, at Jerusalem. 

The city of Jerusalem lies from thirty to forty miles east of Jaffy, a 
small port on the Mediterranean sea : from thence to Jerusalem the 
road is good, and the priest told me he had walked the distance in twc 
days. Jaffy is the port anciently called Joppa : it has a small town 
and fortress, and considerable trade with Jerusalem, the islands in the 
Archipelago, and with Egypt, and some with Malta and Italy ; here 
the Jewish priests, who are sent out on begging expeditions, embark, 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 206 

and return oy way of the same place, generally in Greek vessels of 
small burthen, but very well built and manned. 

The priest asked me many questions respecting America, of which 
he knew but very little, and tlnught it was a wilderness or a desart. 
After I had put him right in regard to those points, and informed him 
we had many Jews in America, where they enjoyed every kind of pri- 
vilege in common with people of other religions ; that they could hold 
landed estates, &c. and that many of them were very rich, he declared 
that as soon as he should have finished his present tour, which would 
still detain him more than a year, he would try to obtain leave to visit 
America, and collect the dues there. 1 informed him that our Jews 
were not so superstitious, nor in such bad repute, as those in Africa or 
Europe, where they were looked upon as a set of sharpers and villains : 
" That may be, (said he,) but if they are Jews, they must conform to 
the laws of Moses, and must contribute towards the support of those 
of their nation who reside in the Holy Land, in order to be ready for 
the future conquest of Jerusalem, which would be the fulfilment of 
God's promises to his people." I asked him in what manner they 
collected this contribution? and he told me, that " having letters from 
the chief rabbies and elders at Jerusalem, the collectors (who are 
always rabbies) were kindly received and well treated by all Jews 
wherever they came; that soon after their arrival in any place where 
synagogues are established, they convene all the Jews together, and 
having laid before them the authority by which they make the demand, 
they then proceed, with the assistance of the priests and chief Jews of 
the place, to class them, and apportion the sum to be raised amongst 
them according to their ability : when this is done, the tax must be 
paid without delay : it takes up six or eight months time to make up 
the sums and finish the collections in the empire of Morocco." 

The Jews in West Barbary are as completely under the control of 
the Mc 3, as if they were slaves, though they fancy themselver in 
some • .easure free : even their dress is regulated by a Moorish law ; 
that 01 the men consists of a shirt, without a collar, and wide petticoat 
drawers that come tight below the knees ; the sleeves of the shirt, 
which are of the full breadth, of coarse muslin cloth, fall a little below 
their elbows, and are not plaited in any way, but hang flowing : they 
wear above the shirt, a jacket with short sleeves to their elbows — the 
jacket is generally made of green woollen cloth, with a small collar, 
buttoned tight round the lower part of the neck ; it is sometimes 
wrought with needle-work from the collar to the waist in front, with 
which, and small round buttons, made from the same materials, it is 
almost covered : they hook this together with wire hooks ; and again 
over this, those who can afford it have a black cotton mantle, which 
comes over their shoulders, and falls down to the calves of their legs — 
this is so contrived, that one end can be thrown over the left shoulder 
in such a manner as to discover the drawers : they are girded with 
sashes of various colours over the mantle round about their loins: they 
wear long beards, and black woollen caps on the back part of their 
heads, leaving the forehead uncovered, which : s shaved often, and kept 
smooth. The four merchants that lived in Mogadore, wore coloured 
silk handkerchiefs on their heads, covering their caps, and tied loosely 
under their chins : they also go bare legged, and wear black slippers 

K 



206 CAPTAIN RILEY S NARRATIVE, 

on their feet, as the luxury of coloured slippers is forbidden them In 

riding, they were formerly restricted to the ass alone, but now they use 
mules, which they are not, however, allowed to mount or ride within 
the gates of the city. When Jews or Jewesses are about to pass a 
mosque, or place of worship, they must take off their slippers, and 
carry them in their hands, going barefoot past it, and that too, until 
they enter another street. 

The dress here described, is that of the wealthy who can afford it. 
but the greater part of the Jews in West JBarbary, are poor, miserable, 
and covered with rags and vermin. A Jewess of the first class, is clad 
with a shirt made of muslin, that is very wide; the sleeves, not. less 
than a yard, hang loosely down to the elbow, when the two hinder 
parts are doubled and fastened together behind their backs ; the bosom 
of this shirt is wrought with fine needle-work on both sides ; it laps 
over before, and covers part of the breasts : a white waistcoat, wrought 
in like manner, is superadded : the lower extremity of this is covered 
by a wrapper, in form of short petticoats, wrapped around above the 
hips, and just laps over in front ; this is commonly made of green 
broadcloth, and falls down below the knees : the two lower corners in 
from, are covered with a fancifully cut. piece of red broadcloth — the 
whole is fastened together by a girdle round the hips, to which are 
suspended behind a number of red woollen cords of different lengths, 
hanging down with a piece of plated silver, or other metal, bent round 
each at its lowest end; these make a kind of tinkling when they walk 
by, striking against each other. Their hair is long, coarse, and black, 
and the principal part turned up, and fastened on the top of the head, 
while two small braids from behind each ear, are attached together at 
their extremities, and fall down to their girdles. 

Married women of the first class, cover their heads with a flowing 
silk handkerchief. Both married and single women, are extremely 
fond of ornaments, and are generally corpulent : t*ey wear <. ber and 
pearl necklaces, with golden hearts, set about with fine diamo^ 's and 
other precious stones : many other ornaments are also hung to heir 
necklaces, which are frequently connected by golden chains : they 
wear silver or gold bracelets around their wrists and ankles, from one 
to two inches wide, enriched with enamel and precious stones. I ex- 
amined several of these ornaments : they are made of the finest gold, 
silver, and stones, and the best amber : the weight of the four bracelets 
on the wrists and ankles of a young girl, (a broker's daughter,) was 
fourteen ounces, and they cost, together with her necklaces, ear and 
finger-rings, and other ornaments, about two thousand dollars. Those 
of the Jews who can get money, are excessively fond of ornamenting 
their wives and daughters, and setting off their charms to the very best 
advantage ; but there are very few of them that have the ability : not 
more than twenty Jews in Mogadore can afford this expense ; and but 
few of the rest can furnish their wives and daughters with bracelets 
of even base metal, washed over with silver or gold ; yet every wo 
man feels as if she were naked, without some ornaments of this de 
scription. 

The Jews are forced to live in a town by themselves, called el Mil* 
!uh, but the Moors enter it whenever they choose, without the smallest 
estraint. Should a Jew attempt to resis'. a Moor on any occasion. 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 207 

he is sure of getting a sound drubbing, and as his testimony cannot 
be taken against a Moor, any more than that of a negro slave in the 
West Indies and the southern states of America, can be given against 
a white man; he is forced to pocket every affront, and- content himseli 
therewith. 

The Jews' Sunday begins on Friday evening at sunset, after which 
time no Jew can even light a candle or lamp, or kindle a fire, or cook 
any thing until Saturday night, at the same hour; so that they heat 
their ovens on Friday ; put in their provisions before night, for their 
next day's meals, and let it stand in the ovens until Saturday noon, 
when it is taken out, and set on the table, or on the floor, by Moors, 
whom they contrive to hire for that purpose. Every Jew who can af- 
ford it, has brass or silver lamps hanging up in his house, which are 
lighted on Friday and not extinguished until Sunday morning : they 
burn either olive or argan oil- Their principal and standing Sunday 
dinner, is called skanah ; it is made of peas baked in an oven for 
nearly twenty-four hours, with a quantity of beeves' marrow bones, 
(having very little meat on them) broken to pieces over them : it is a 
very luscious and fattening dish, and by no means a bad one : this, 
with a few vegetables, and sometimes a plum-pudding, good bread, 
and Jews' brandy, distilled from figs, and anniseed, and bittered with 
wormwood, makes up the repast of the Jews who call themselves 
rich. The poor can only afford skanah and barley-bread on their 
Sunday, and live the rest of the week as they can. The men and 
boys attend their synagogues, (on their Sundays,) but these are no 
more than small rooms, where all join in jabbering over prayers in 
Hebrew, as fast as they can speak, every one in his own natural tone 
jf voice, making altogether a most barbarous kind of jargon. 

The Jewish women are considered by the men as having no souls, 
nor are they allowed generally to enter the synagogues, nor do Jie 
women partake of their sacraments. The sacraments consist of bread 
and wine, and of circumcision. While in Mogadore, 1 attended a 
Jewish circumcision. The child being ready, and the friends present, 
the priest took him on his left arm, having a pair of silver tongs in his 
left hand, with which he gauged and prepared the parts, and performed 
the operation with a sharp knife he had in his right hand, cutting off 
a piece of the flesh, as well as all the foreskin : this appeared to me to 
be a painful and cruel operation, and it made the infant scream out 
most piteously. The Jews circumcise at the age of eight days, and 
the Moors and Arabs at the age of eight years ; the Arabs cut the 
foreskin and flesh off square, as well as the Jews ; but with the Arabs, 
as I have before observed, it is a preventive of venereal disease, and 
not a religious rite. For a view of the Jewish costume, and mariner 
of performing this ceremony in West JBarbary, see plate No. 8. 

Daring my journey towards Tangier, we put up at Sally, during 
the Jews' Sabbath, having two Jews in company, who had friends 
or relations in that place that entertained them, and furnished a sup- 
per. Before eating, they brought forward a cup in the form of a tan- 
kard, and some white bread,, in which some <i;reen herbs had been 
chopped up, and mixed with it before biking : they all arose at once, 
formed a circle round the supper dish, consisting of boiled fowls, 
which was set on the floor, and when standing, all began to chant 



208 CAPTAIN RILEY 'S NARRATIVE. 

over their prayers in Hebrew, as fast as they could speak : there were 
about twenty in all, relations and visitors. As I was ignorant of the 
Hebrew language, which they spoke, and which I am told, differs ma- 
te-rally from that taught in the schools and colleges of our country, 1 
could not join with them. This chant, discordant enough to be sure, 
to my ear, took up at least a quarter of an hour. When they were 
about to finish, they passed round the bread, of which each one took a 
piece, and not to be singular, 1 took one also and ate it. After saying 
over a few more words, they handed round the cup to all, and each took 
a drink, keeping up their chant all the time — when it came round to 
me, 1 took it and drank a little : it was wine, made by steeping dry 
raisins in water, and to me not very palatable, being somewhat sour 
and bitter. After the cup had gone round, all turned their faces to the 
east, bowed thrice, bending their bodies more than half way to the 
ground, still going on with their chant. As soon as they had done 
worshipping, they resumed their places round the dish, seized each 
other by the hand, giving it a convulsive grasp, and stamping at the 
same time with their Teet : this terminated the ceremony. The chant 
being finished, all took their seats around the dish as near as they 
could get, on their legs and on the floor, having first washed their 
hands ; some vigorously seized the boiled fowls, which they soon 
carved, by pulling them to pieces, and then passed those pieces 
round to the company. Their bread was made of barley-meal ; 
this they dipped in the dish, after each bite, and called it a sop : the 
gravy in which they dipped their bread, was the liquor in which the 
fowls had been boiled, mixed with vinegar. This was on Friday eve- 
ning, January the 6th, 1816, about 9 o'clock, P. M. On the next 
evening, they repeated the same ceremonies. After supper, they 
amused themselves by singing songs in Arabic, and telling stories, 
which they kept up with great glee until near midnight, when, at my 
entreaty, they retired for the night, as I wished to get some rest. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

New orders arrive from the emperor — Mr. Wiltshire is grossly insulted 
by Moors — A description of the city and port of Swearah, or Moga- 
dore — Us inhabitants, commerce, manufactures, fyc. 

About the last of November, a courier came to Mogadore from the 
emperor to the governor, ordering him not to suffer a Moor to serve 
either a Christian or Jew, under any pretence whatever, or to live in 
their houses, under the severest penalty : this letter was no sooner 
read, than the news flew to every part of the town. In consequence of 
this order, Rais Bel Cossim, Bel Mooden, and a Moor of the name of 
Soliman, who had been constantly in and about Mr. Willshire's house, 
durst not return even to take their leave : the hfe of a Chrisitan pre- 
vious to this was hardly safe, even in the city, without a Moor in com- 
pany to ward off the insults of the boys and those of the Moors who 
were vicious or fanatical. New orders had also been given to the 
guards of the water-port, not to allow any one to go on board ves- 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 209 

«els, except the captains and crews, without a special order from the 
governor. 

On new-year's day, captains Mackay and Henderson, of whom I 
feve before spoken, dined with Mr. Willshire : when they went down to 
go on board their vessels, Mr. Willshire and myself went to take a walk 
round the water-port, it being low tide : the guards ran after us, seized 
hold of Mr. Willshire, and turning him round, bid him, in an insulting 
tone, to* go back, uttering the most abusive language; and drawing 
their scimitars, they threatened to cut him down. We had no Moor 
with us to witness this insult, but Mr. Willshire's spirit could not 
brook this indignity, and he rebuked these fellows in a very resolute 
manner, bidding defiance to them and the alcayd, and told them that if 
they offered to touch him again, he would revenge himself instantly, 
and at any rate would complain to the emperor, and would cause them 
to lose their heads for insulting a consul and a merchant. 1 advised 
him to return to the port, which he did ; but the Moors were so en- 
raged, that they ran with all speed to the alcayd, and told him that 
Mr. Willshire had beat them ; that he called them hard names, and 
defied the power of the Sultan. Immediately soldiers were sent after 
him, who came up with us before we got to his house : they insisted 
on taking him before the alcayd forthwith by force, if he would not 
go without ; he told them, however, that he must and would wait for 
his Jew interpreter, Nahory, ,and that then he would come : this an- 
swer was carried to the alcayd, and in a few moments Ben Nahory 
made his appearance, and they went before the alcayd together. The 
alcayd reprimanded Mr. Willshire for having cursed the Sultan, and 
advised him to settle the business, by giving a present to the guards, 
as they would depose against him before the Cadi, which if they 
should do, he would be obliged to go up to Morocco to the emperor, 
and he (the governor) said he could not be answerable for the result. 
Mr. Willshire defended himself so well by the help of his interpreter, 
who was a cunning Jew, that his accusers began to lower their tone a 
little : he stated that he had the Sultan's letter, which ordered the go- 
vernors and alcayds to see his person protected from insult, as well 
as his property, and that the late order had deprived him of the aid 
and evidence of a Moor, to which he was entitled by that letter : he 
added, that he would write the Sultan an account of the insult imme- 
diately, and of the villainy of the port guards, but would not pay a 
blanquille, (i. e. a farthing) to any one. The alcayd said he was 
ordered to protect him and the other Christians in the port, and wished 
them to be respected, but they must respect themselves, and byway of 
an excuse, remarked that the consuls at Tangier did not go down with 
the captains that have the honour of dining with them, to their boats 
after dinner ; that this was derogatory to the etiquette due to their 
office ; but, at the same time, calling the guards, he told them that 
Mr. Willshire was the Sultan's Consul ; that they must never lay a 
finger on him ; but if he should wish to go off' in one of the boats of 
the vessels in port, they must permit him to get into the boat, but pre- 
vent it from going off until they sent him information, in order that he 
might give a permit for him to go on board. He further told the 
guards that they had done very wrong, and if they were not careful in 
future he should dismiss them. The guards were very angry, and su d 



2fO CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

it was intolerable for a Moor to be insulted with impunity by a Chris- 
tian dog ; that they would swear against him before the Cadi that 
instant ; that they did not fear his (the governor's) power, and theu 
would appeal to the Sultan and abide his decision. As they were* 
going to the Cadi, the alcayd told them if they did contrary to his 
orders it would cost them their heads, and bid them return to their 
duty immediately ; and in order that there might be no further com- 
plaint on their part, he would make inquiry, and have justice done to 
them as well as to the consul: thus ended the affair, which I at first 
was apprehensive would be attended with more serious consequences. 
Mr. Willshire, however, took care to send presents to the Addals, or 
four assistants of the alcayd, who took occasion to convince the 
alcayd, that the guards were in the wrong — however, we durst not 
go out walking or riding as formerly, but were obliged to restrict 
ourselves to the city, and I had time to examine it within and round 
about. 

The city of Mogadore, called Swearah by the Moors and Arabs, or 
the beautiful picture, is situated on the Atlantic ocean, in latitude 31. 
15. (thirty-one degrees, fifteen minutes) north, and longitude 9 — (nine 
degrees) west from London. It is built somewhat in form of an oblong 
square : its length from north to south is about three-fourths ©f a mile, 
and its greatest breadth is not more than half a mile : it stands on a 
peninsula that has been recovered from the sea, which washes its 
walls on the W. N. W. and south sides every tide, and is sometimes 
completely surrounded by water at high spring tides. The walls are 
built of stone and lime, generally six feet thick at their base, and 
about twenty feet in height, surmounted with small turrets; and have 
batteries of cannon on them at every angle : the walls generally are 
made of rough stone and small sea pebbles, mixed and cemented 
together by liquid lime-mortar, filling up every crack solid; they are 
plastered over with this kind of stucco within and without, and are 
thick, solid, very firm, and hard. On the eastern angle, as you 
approach the gates, there is a round tower built of hewn stone, thirty 
feet high, mounted with about forty pieces of brass and iron cannon, 
that command the approaches of the city on the east side, assisted by 
the four batteries on the N. E. angle, and a heavy battery on the water- 
port. It is divided into three parts — el Ksebah, or the strong and 
lion-like fortress, is the southernmost, and is surrounded by a double 
wall on the east and south sides; a single wall, but very thick, next 
the sea, where there is a strong bomb-proof battery, mounting about 
forty pieces of cannon of different calibers, and most of them are of 
brass : this is its whole defence on the seaboard. Vessels of war 
might anchor, in smooth weather, within half cannon shot of the town, 
in thirty fathoms water, rocky bottom. This town is separated from 
the main town by a strong wall, whose gates are regularly shut at 8 
O'clock every evening, and not opened until broad daylight the next 
morning. The Christian merchants reside in the fortress, and the 
four Jew merchants keep their goods in it. The next is the main 
town, where the market is held, and where the artificers live : there is 
a very handsome square set apart in that section of the town for a 
grain market, surrounded by small shops, kept by Moors and Jews : 
these shops are on the ground floor, have a door, but no window to 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 21 1 

rhera, and are so very small that the keeper can sit at his ease in the 
centre and reach nearly every article in them. They, among oth*r 
things, manufacture at Mogadore large quantities of haicks, which 
are made of woollen yarn, spun by hand with a common iron spindle, 
and wove in common rough looms similar to such as we made use cf, 
even in America, not more than fifty years ago — they throw the shut- 
tle by hand, and weave their pieces about five yards long and five feet 
wide, and they are sold from the looms at about two dollars each, but 
are not allowed to be exported by sea: they also make axes and many 
other iron tools, such as adzes, scimitars, knives, &c. East of the 
main town is the town occupied by the blacks, in a corner or kind of 
a triangle made by the outer wall : it is said to contain two thousand 
free blacks : this part is also walled in by itself, and has its gates shut 
every night. The negroes that are free enjoy nearly all the privileges 
of the Moors, being of the same religion ; still they are not allowed to 
live together with the Moors promiscuously. 

The fourth division is the Jews' town, or Millah: it is very confined, 
and occupies the northwest angle of the city : the sea washes its outer 
wai! every tide, and has nearly beat it through on the west side : it is 
divided from the principal town by a high strong wall. The Millah 
has but one outer gate, which is on its eastern side, near the north 
city gate; this is always strongly guarded by Moors, and has a gover- 
nor or alcayd to adjust and settle disputes between the Jews, and 
between them and the Moors. The water-port is two hundred yards 
south of the city, within the outer wall — this is a wall built of hewn 
stone, with several broad and lofty arches, through which the tide 
flows and ebbs : the wall is about twenty feet thick, and has a strong 
baUery of heavy cannon well mounted on it, for the defence of the 
harbour : it is extremely well built ; its arches are well turned, and 
the whole work would bear a comparison with a European fortress. 
The harbour spreads itself before the town to the south, and is shield- 
ed from the sea by an island about two miles long, and half a mile 
broad, only distant from the water-port point about five hundred yards. 
Between the island and the water-port, the vessels enter, keeping the 
island side close on board, until they run down half the length of it, 
when they may anchor in two and a half fathoms at low water, within 
a cable's length of the island, and with good cables and anchors ride 
safe during three quarters of the year; but vessels drawing over four- 
teen feet water cannot ride secuqe on account of the shallowness of 
the harbour. In the months of December, January, and February, 
strong gales prevail from the westward, which heave in such heavy 
swells round the two ends of this island, that what seamen call the 
send or swing of the sea, breaks the strongest cables, and forces all 
the vessels in this port on shore, in the winter of 1815, an English 
brig was driven on shore with a full cargo, and totally lost ; another 
parted her cables, and was driven fast towards the water-port, when 
the master and crew deserted her in their boat, in hopes of saving 
their lives; but the boat was upset, and all hands were either drowned 
or dashed to pieces against trie rocks; the brig's cables, however, 
caught round some craggy rocks, whicn held her through the remain- 
der of the gale, though within a few feet of the rocks astern. An 
American schooner's crew were also 'ost in this port a few years ago* 



212 CAPTAIN riley's NARRATIVE. 

together with her supercargo, in consequence of quitting the vessel, 
and taking to their boat, while the captain, who was soliciting assist- 
ance from the other vessels in port, was saved, and the schooner was 
also finally saved, though she had been totally abandoned : it is in 
the winter a very dangerous port, and any vessel entering it should 
have three good cables and anchors, to moor her head and stern by, 
and should strike her yards and topmasts immediately. 

The island is called Mogadore by the Europeans, and was thus 
named by the Portuguese or Spaniards, when they first partially sur- 
veyed this coast, and thence the European name of Mogadore, is 
derived for the town, and not from the sanctuary or saint-house near 
it, which in Arabic is called Milliah. This island serves as a State 
Prison for the Moorish empire : it is fortified and strongly guarded, 
commonly containing not less than one thousand state prisoners, 
who have mostly been aleayds and military men, and who are fre- 
quently pardoned and restored to their former posts again, after a few 
years' trial of their fortitude and patience there in irons. Provisions 
are sent to the island twice a week in good weather. All communi- 
cation with the island is forbidden to strangers, under pain of death. 
On a rocky point, without the water-port, nearest to the island, stands 
a circular battery, to defend the entrance of the harbour, and protect 
the island : on the east side of the harbour, near the Sultan's palace, 
there is also a circular battery, well built of stone, calculated to mount 
twenty guns, but the guns that had been mounted on it were taken 
away, under an impression that they might fall into the hands of the 
Arabs, who attacked Swearah during the quarrel for the succession^ 
which was terminated in the elevation of the present Sultan, Muley 
Soliman, to the Moorish throne. 

Swearah or Mogadore was built by Sidi Mohammed, the father of 
Muley Soliman, who spared no pains or expense in making it corres- 
pond with its name : it is the only tolerable seaport in the Moorish 
dominions, except Tangier, and the only one in which foreign vessels 
are allowed a kind of free trade, or one without special licenses : the 
houses are built of rough stone and lime ; are from one to three stories 
high, and nearly all have flat terraced roofs: the streets are narrow, 
and some of them almost entirely covered with houses arched or pro- 
jecting over them, particularly in the fortress part : the buildings at 
first, it is said, were erected under the inspection of artisans, who 
were brought from Europe for the purpose: it is by far the neatest 
town in the empire, and is computed to contain about thirty thousand 
Moors and blacks, and six thousand Jews. During the contest for 
the succession, at the death of Muley Eitzid, who reigned a short 
time after the death of Sidi Mohammed, Swearah was attacked by 
surprise in the night, and about three thousand of the assailants enter- 
ed the fortress part over the walls, and actually got possession of the 
streets ; but they were soon destroyed by the garrison and town's 
people, from the roofs of their houses ; and the army before it, con- 
sisting of field-Moors and Arabs, were put to flight, ft has been since 
visited and nearly depopulated twice by the plague, which spread ter- 
ror and devastation in all the western part of the empire. Mercantile 
trade was here encouraged by its founder, and flourished to a great 
extent; large quantities of wheat were sent from hence to Spain and 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 213 

Portugal; sheep's wool and the gums were also shipped in great 
abundance; namely, gum-sandarach, arabic, &c. &c. — almonds, 
olives, dates, dried figs, and large quantities of olive oil, bees-wax., 
and honey — annis, cummin, worm, and other medicinal seeds — pome- 
granate peel, and many other drugs — goat, calf, and a few camels' 
skins, and camels' hair — haicks for the Guinea trade, and many othei 
articles. Their imports were bar-iron and steel, knives, and othei 
cutlery, raw cotton, and many kinds of manufactured cotton goods, 
woollen cloths, silks, and silk handkerchiefs, teas, sugars, spices, gold 
and silver ornaments, pearls, amber beads, small Dutch looking-glasses, 
German goods, platillas, nankeens, lumber, &c. &c. There were at 
one time no less than thirty Christian mercantile houses established 
there : the duties on imports are ten per centum, taken in kind when 
the goods are landed, except on the articles of iron, steel, and cotton, 
on which the duties are paid in cash at the same rate: (the govern- 
ment allowing the importer a short credit on the duties :) this is the 
duty the Sultan is entitled to by the Koran as tithes, or tenths, accord- 
ing to their sacred code, for he is the religious, as well as the temporal 
sovereign. The duties on exports are regulated by an imperial order, 
and are not steady. 

Trade has been depressed of late years by enormous duties on 
exports, and by prohibitions, so much so, that there are now only two 
or three respectable Christian establishments in Mogadore, and those 
who conduct them are forced to put up with frequent insult and impo- 
sition : they do little business to sPprofit, and must, if it does not soon 
alter for the better, quit the place altogether. It is the policy of the 
present emperor, who is absolute, to keep the people as poor as pos- 
sible, that they may not have it in their power to rebel ; for a rebel- 
lious army cannot be supported there without money, or kept together 
without an immediate hope of plunder, and the Moorish government 
has very little to fear from a partial and ill organized insurrection, the 
chiefs of which must have money as well as bravery, and display good 
conduct, or they will soon be forsaken. The Sultan commenced his 
system by shutting the ports of Santa Cruz, Saffy, Rhabat, Azamore, 
Darlbeida, <fec. and ordering the foreign merchants residing in them 
to go to Mogadore or Swearah, where he said they should be protected. 
Soon afterwards they began to prohibit the introduction of some arti- 
cles, then the exportation of many — such as wool, wheat, olive oil, 
&c. and laid a duty that amounted to a prohibition on sevenl othei 
articles of exportation; when the people murmured, they were told it 
was a sin to trade with men who did not follow the true and only holy 
religion on earth: that their prophet had strictly forbidden such traffic 
as would be liable to corrupt their morals and defile them in the sight 
of God : that this sin had been committed, and that God was now 
taking vengeance of his people by sending the locusts and the plague 
that followed them, laying waste the country, and unpeopling so many 
fine cities. These were arguments which liad great weight with the 
superstitious Moors, aided by the plague which at that time raged 
with dreadful fury, and swept off tnree-fourths of the inhabitants of 
Mogadore, Sally, and several other towns ; the whole garrison of el 
Kstbbah, on Tensift rivei, &c. &c. Several of the Christian mer- 
chants died also of the plague, and many of the most respectable 



214 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

mercantile Moors : this caused an almost total stagnation of business, 
which stagnation has been increasing, if possible, ever since, owing to 
these causes and other heavy commercial restraints imposed by the 
present emperor. 

Should any of the maritime nations declare war against the Moors, 
Mogadore might be easily taken and destroyed, though the place could 
not be retained any length of time : a few sloops of war of a light 
draught of water might enter the harbour and sail down near the south 
end of the island, where they might land troops and take possession 
of it, which being high, commands the town ; here they might con- 
struct batteries, and beat down its walls at their leisure. The country 
near it is covered with nothing but drifts of sand for a distance beyond 
cannon shot. The Moors are very awkward gunners, though as brave 
as men can be, believing that if they venture even up to the very 
mouth of a cannon, they cannot die one moment before the time ap- 
pointed by fate, nor in any other manner than that which was predes- 
tined by the Almighty before they were created, and even from the 
foundation of the world. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

Of the Moors and Moorish Arabs— feast of expiation — a Moorish 
review and sham fight — horsemanship — of the Arabian horse and his 
furniture. 

The Moors are a stout athletic race of men, and are generally of 
about five feet ten inches in height. They sprung from the Berebe- 
ries, or old inhabitants of the north and western parts of northern 
Africa, together with the descendants of the Carthagenians. and va- 
rious Greek and Roman colonies on those coasts, conquered by and 
commixed with the Arabs or Saracens who passed the isthmus of 
Suez, and subjugated the north of Africa under the caliphs of the pre- 
tended prophet Mohammed. Fez is at present the great capital of 
the empire, and chief residence of the emperor, who is styled by the 
Moors and Arabs el Sultan, (the Sultan,) or as they pronounce it, 
Sooltan. Suse has become independent of the Moors. The Moors 
are ail strict followers of the Mohammedan doctrine, and firm predes- 
tinarians. I call the doctrine Mohammedan instead of Mahometan, 
because the name of their prophet is pronounced, both by the Moors 
and Arabs, Mohammed, and both of them pronounce their letters very 
distinctly, and with their mouths open like the Spaniards, giving to 
every letter its full sound ; for though they write with characters, and 
do not know how to form a Roman letter with a pen, yet a person 
understanding letters, who hears them speak, would say they were 
perfectly familiar with the Roman alphabet, and laid more emphasis 
and stress on the letters, by means of which they speak their language, 
than anv other people on earth. 

The Moors, in general, do not learn to read and write, but their 
Talbs are learned men, who take great pains to become acquainted 
with the principles of their own and tha ancient Arabic language, and 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 215 

with the laws of the Koran, which is held by them, as the Bibb is by 
Christians, to be a sacred book, and to contain nothing but divine reve- 
lation. The Talis transact all the business that requires writing, and 
serve alternately as scriveners, lawyers, and priests. The Moors use 
no bells tor their places of worship, but in the towns and cities, their 
religious houses have high minarets or steeples, with flat tops &nd a 
kind of balustrade round them : to the tops of these the Talbs ascend 
to call the people at stated times to prayers, and as the steeples are 
very high, and the Talbs are accustomed to call aloud, they are heard 
at a great distance, particularly when all is still in the city. Their 
times of prayer are before daylight in the morning, at about mid-day, 
about the middle of the afternoon, at sunset, and again before they 
retire to rest, abtfut 8 or 9 ^'clock in the evening. The Talbs, who 
are on the steeples before daylight in the morning, commence by call- 
ing all the faithful to prayers : their voices sound most harmoniously, 
and thrill through the air in a singular manner. I was always awaken- 
ed by them myself while I staid at Mogadore, and often went to the 
window to hear them ; their call reminded me of my duty also. After 
they summoned all the faithful to attend prayers, they either rehearsed 
particular passages from the Koran, or sang some sacred poetry with 
a loud and piercing, but at the same time a very melodious and plea- 
sing tone of voice. The Moors who live near the places of worship 
go in, join with the Talbs, and pray aloud together ; but by far the 
greatest number perform their devotions in their own rooms. The 
Talbs, 1 am informed, perform their religious duties, which are very 
fatiguing, merely from motives of piety — they do not receive the 
smallest remuneration either from the prince, or people, in any shape 
or way whatever. All worship by turning their faces to the east, and 
bow their neads in the dust like the wandering Arabs: they wash their 
bodies all over with water before prayers, as well as their hands and 
faces, for which purpose, within the walls of their mosques or churches, 
they have wells or fountains of water, and large stone basins in which 
to bathe. When they appear before God (as they call it) in their 
places of worship, they divest themselves of all superfluous ornaments 
and clothing, and even of their breeches ; after purifying with water, 
they wrap themselves decently up in their haick or blanket only, and 
go through their ceremonies with signs of the most profound devotion. 
If a Christian enters a Mohammedan place of worship, without one 
of the Cadi, or with a guard, he must either change his religion, by 
having his head shaven, undergoing the operation of circumcision, and 
confessing there is but one God, and that Mohammed is his holy pro- 
phet, &c. or surfer instant death — but I have ventured to look into 
them from the street. The court leading to the mosque was paved 
with tiles, and kept very clean, with stone basins filled with pure wa- 
ter on each side for the purposes of purification ; though 1 aurst noi 
approach so near as to see in what manner the interior part was ar- 
ranged, but 1 was informed they were entirely free from ornaments. 
The women are not generally permitted to enter their houses of reli- 
gious worship, nor even to appear in the streets, unless they are com- 
pletely covered by their clothing, which going over their heads, is held 
m such a manner by their hands on the inside, as only to permit them 
to peep out with one eye, to discover and pick their way ; so that no 



216 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

Moor or Christian can see their faces. In the streets, they are very 
seldom seen, and are so extremely fleshy, that thev waddle, rather 
than walk along, like fat and clumsy ducks. No Moor will marry a 
wife until she is well fatted hy her father ; and if it is not in the hus- 
band's power afterwards to keep her in the same good case and con- 
dition, or rather, to improve upon it, he is dissatisfied, and endeavours 
to get clear of her, which he very often effects, for he will not keep a 
wife unless she is very fleshy, or bed with what he calls "a death skele- 
ton.'''' The women visit each other, and walk together on the tops of 
their houses, but even the husband cannot enter the room they are in 
when uncovered, or get a sight of his neighbour's wife or daughter, 
being strictly forbidden by his religion to look on any other woman 
than his own wife or wives : — thus the Motors, when they receive com- 
pany, sit down with them on the ground outside of their houses, where 
they converse together ; but notwithstanding all these precautions, as 
the women are very amorous, they manage to introduce their gallants 
by means of the female covering, and the privilege they enjoy of 
visiting each other, and get their lovers off by the same means un- 
discovered. 

The Moors go off in large numbers every year, forming a great ca- 
ravan, on a pilgrimage to Mecca, and return in three or four years ; 
every Moslemin being by law obliged to visit the tomb of his prophet 
once in his lifetime, if he can afford to pay the expenses of his journey. 
The men who have been to Mecca and returned, are dignified by the 
name of el ajjh, (or the pilgrim,) and the women who go and return, 
(for there are a few who venture,) are allowed the privilege of wearing 
the haick, or man's blanket ; of walking the streets uncovered, like 
men, and of conversing with them promiscuously, as they may deem 
fit, being considered holy women, and as possessing souls by special 
grace and favour. Every Moor who is born an idiot, or becomes de- 
lirious, is considered a saint, and is treated with the greatest attention 
and respect by every one ; is clothed, and fed, and taken the greatest 
care of by the whole community ; and, do what he will, he cannot 
commit a crime in the eye of their law. 

Soon after my arrival at Mogadore, about the 15th of November, 
1815, the feast of expiation was celebrated by the Moors, at which 
every Mohammedan is by law obliged to kill a sheep, if it is possible 
for him to procure one ; if not, each kills such other animal as he can 
obtain : the rich (if liberal) kill a number proportioned to their wealth 
and inclination, and distribute them amongst their relations, or the 
poor who have none to kill. Rais bel Cossim (i. e. Captain bel Cos- 
sim) killed seven sheep : they had been bought long before, and 
were well fatted for the purpose. The first day of the feast was spent 
in visiting, and in giving and receiving presents or gifts ; and the 
second in military parade. On the morning of that day, 1 accompa- 
nied Mr. Willshire to the top of a house, formerly occupied by a Mr. 
Chiappi, deceased, who was the Portuguese Consul at Mogadore for 
many years : this house was, before it went to decay, the largest and 
most elegant in that city : it stood near, and overlooked the eastern 
wall. From that place, we saw from thirteen to fifteen hundred Ara- 
bian horses, fleet as the wind, and full of fire, mounted by Moors and 
Arabs, who sat on strong Moorish saddles that came up high before 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA* 217 

mad behind, covered with rich quilted scarlet broadcloth. They were 
paraded between the outer and main walls of the city : — the horsemen 
were dressed with red caftans or vests, not generally worn by them, 
except on great occasions : these were covered with worsted haicks, 
wove transparent like bunting for ships' flags : each rider was armed 
with a long Moorish musket, and had a knife or scimitar hanging 
loosely by his side : they wore on their heads either white turbans, 
twisted and wound many times around, or a red cap, in token of their 
being regular imperial soldiers, or else a fold of their haick : their 
bridle-bits were the most powerful of the Arabian kind. The horses 
were all studs, and wore their whole natural quantity of main and tail 
unmutilated in any part, and consequently retained all their natural 
fire, beauty, strength, and pride : each horse was furnished with a 
head-piece, resembling the stall of a bridle at top, and a halter below 
— this stall or head-piece, was made of the richest scarlet cord and vel- 
vet, with fringe hanging down over, and nearly covering his eyes, and 
a large pendulous pad of scarlet velvet cloth under each ear: the neck 
of each was adorned with a very elegant scarlet cord, having a hand- 
some knob and tassel underneath : these trappings were solely for 
ornament, and not for use, and put on before the bridle. Each had 
besides, a small red cord about his neck, to which was fastened a num 
ber of little bags, made of fine red Morocco leather — these bags, 1 
learned on inquiry, were stuffed with scraps of paper, covered with 
Arabic writing, furnished to the owner of the horse by jugglers ; and, 
as they pretend, serve as a charm to ward off the effects of " evil 
eyes" or witchcraft, in which they all believe : the Moors and Arabs 
are so firmly attached to this superstitious opinion, that they believe 
both themselves and their horses are in imminent danger without this 
favourite charm. 

The Moorish and Arabian saddle, which 1 consider to be the very 
best that can be invented by man to keep the rider steady in his seat, 
is fastened on by a strong girth under the horse's belly, and by one 
round his breast, but without any crupper: the stirrups are made of 
broad pieces of sheet iron or brass, and for the most part plated with 
silver — the bottom of them is as long as a man's foot, so that he can 
shift the position of his feet in them at pleasure : they are kept exceed- 
ingly bright, and are taken up short and tied to the saddle by braided 
leather thongs, so that in order to support himself firmly in his saddle, 
the rider has only to press his feet to the horse's sides, near his flanks, 
his knees on the lower part of the saddle; thus resting at five points 
at one and the same time. The bridle is of that kind which will either 
stop the fiercest horse in an instant, or snap off his lower jaw — so that 
the rider has his horse under the most perfect command possible. 
This body of horsemen, thus mounted and equipped, were reviewed 
by the Bashaw and Alcayd, or military and civil governors. There 
were also five or six thousand foot soldiers assembled for the same 
purpose: these were dressed in haicks and red caps, and armed with 
muskets and daggers. After the review, the exercises began by a dis- 
charge of twenty-four pieces of cannon, mounted on the different bat- 
teries about the city, and then followed a kind of sham fight, which 
was begun near the northern gate, between two bodies of infantry: 
they marched forward to the attack, and each poured in an irregular 



218 

fire, which was supported and kept up in almost one continual blaze 
by successive advancing lines, until it seemed necessary to bring for- 
ward the heavy cavalry, in order to arrest the progress of a solid 
column of men, that kept slowly and constantly advancing upon the 
opposing troops. The expected signal was at length given : the whole 
of the cavalry was instantly in motion : it advanced in squadrons of 
about one hundred, in close order, and at full speed, and seemed to 
fly like the wind : the distance between the opposing forces was near 
one fourth of a mile : the horsemen shouting loudly, " hah-hah! hah- 
hah!" raised themselves on their stirrups, took a deliberate aim with 
their long muskets, when within five yards of the enemy's lines, and 
poured in their fire while going at their greatest speed. I expected 
they would inevitably dash in amongst the infantry, and trample many 
of them to death ; but the moment the men had fired, they brought 
their horses down upon their haunches, and stopping them short, 
reined them instantly round, to make room for the next approaching 
squadron, while the horses of the first squadron walked steadily and 
leisurely back, giving time for the riders to re-load their muskets at 
their ease : thus furiously attacked by numerous squadrons, in quick 
succession, and so closely, the infantry were soon broken and dis- 
persed, by which means the cavalry remained apparent masters of 
the field. 

Nothing of the kind could exceed the ardour, activity, and intelli- 
gence, displayed by those noble looking and well trained horses ; they 
seemed almost to fly to the attack, and looked as if determined to 
rush through the opposing host, and trample it to atoms ; but when 
the riders had fired their muskets, and the horses were turned . about 
the other way, they were perfectly calm in an instant, and walked on 
leisurely until they were again faced round towards the enemy ; then 
their eyes seemed to kindle with fire; they pawed up the dust, which 
they seemed to snuff up into their wide-stretched nostrils, and into 
which one might see, as they then appeared, nearly up to their eyes : 
they snorted and pranced about in such a manner, that nothing short 
of the heavy and true Arabian bridle could have been capable of 
checking or keeping them in subjection, and nothing short of the 
Moorish or Arabian saddle, could have prevented their riders from 
being dashed against the ground. The long spurs of the horsemen 
h.atl gored their flanks, so as to make the blood stream out, which, 
uniting with their sweat, formed a kind of streaked froth, that nearly 
covering their sides, dropped fast upon the ground, whilst the severe 
working of the bit upon their mouths, caused them to bleed profusely. 
The dazzling of their stirrups and arms in the sun, the rattling of their 
spurs against their stirrups, and the clashing of their arms against each 
other ; the beautiful appearance of the squadrons of horses ; the 
cracking of musketry, and continual shouting of the mock combatants, 
produced an effect truly imposing, and I was of opinion that no lines 
of infantry, of equal numbers, however well formed and commanded, 
would be capable of withstanding their impetuous and repeated shocks, 
when actually attacked : this was truly a superb school for horse- 
manship. 

Sidi Hamet, ray old master, had borrowed and mounted Mr.- Will- 
shire's fine horse, and seemed to be in all his glory while exercising 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 219 

hiin like the others. After they had nearly finished the sham-fight, 
he, together with a line of Moors, consisting of about fifteen or twenty, 
commenced their last career towards the enemy: they had a. quarter 
of a mile to ride, and all with long muskets in their hands : they set 
off their horses ar full speed, in a line when on their seats; then turn- 
ing over, they placed their heads upon their saddles, and rode with 
their feet in the air. and their backs towards the horse's heads, for a 
considerable part of the distance ; then regaining their seats by a sud- 
den movement, they rose in their stirrups, fired off their pieces close 
to the wall, reined their horses around, and returned again to their 
post. Many of these horses were extremely fleet and beautiful, and 
seemed as much to exceed in spirit, strength, and courage, the first- 
rate race horses I had ever seen in Europe or America, as those fine 
animals excel the common plough horse. 

The Moors soon wear their horses down by hard service, and then 
put them into mills to grind their grain, as there is scarcely such a 
tiling as a wind or water-mill, wherewith to grind their breadstuff, to 
be found in the Moorish empire. The mares are never rode or worked, 
and are kept solely for the purpose of breeding ; and 1 found that what 
I had considered as an exaggerated account of the good qualities 
attributed to the Arabian horse, fell far short of his real merits ; for 
though the most proud, fierce, and fiery of the horse kind, he is, at the 
same time, the most docile of those noble animals. The true Arabian 
horse is about fourteen to sixteen hands in height; his body is long, 
round, and slender; his limbs small, dfean, and straight; he is square- 
breasted and round-quartered; his neck well set and slender, with a 
beautiful natural curve; his head small, with a face inclining to a 
curve, from the fop of the head to the nostrils, with eyes full, bright, 
quick, and intelligent — many of them are of a beautiful cream colour, 
and frequently spotted with black, and vary in colour from a light 
sorrel, through all the shades of bay and chesnut, to the deepest jet 
black : they are strong-jointed, and full of sinew — naturally docile, 
and very active; but. if they become in the least vicious, they are 
doomed to the mill for the remainder of their days. It was with 
much regret 1 learned that these . beautiful and serviceable animals 
could not be exported from either the Moorish dominions, or any 
'other of the Bar bary states, without a special permission, as a pri- 
vate favour from the reigning prince, which is very seldom granted, 
and only on particular and important occasions. 

The Arabs inhabiting Morocco, live in tents, in a wandering state; 
for the true Arabs will not be confined within walls, and are a distinct 
race of men from the Moors. They keep large herds of cattle, horses, 
camels, sheep, goats, and asses, making use of the milk of all the 
females for butter and for drink: they supply the cities with butter, 
which they make by the simple process of putting the milk into a goat- 
skin, the hair side in, hanging it up by the legs, and shaking it by 
the help of a rope, by which it is fastened : when the butter is made, 
they pack it, hair and all, into earthen jars that hold from two to four 
pounds each, and in that state, cap-y it to market without salting, 
selling the butter, jar, and all, for a mere trifle : they cultivate nearly 
all the plain land that is cultivated in the empire of Morocco, (as the 
Bereberies till the hilly country and sides of mountains,) except 



220 

the grounds in the immediate vicinity of the cities, which they do no*. 
approach for the purposes of agriculture, those being cultivated and 
dressed by the Moors and their slaves. They live in families or sec- 
tions of tribes, and pitch their tents in companies of from twenty to 
one hundred and fifty tents, each tent containing one family: these 
tents when pitched, are called a Douhar : they elect a chief to each of 
these douhars, whom they dignify with the title of Alcayd or Sheick, 
for the time being ; their authority, however, is rather of an advisory 
than mandatory kind. Near seed time, they remove and pitch their 
douhar (or encampment) near the spot they mean to cultivate, and 
plough and sow the land with wheat, barley, corn, or peas : they fence 
in some parcels of land with good high stone fences, particularly 
orchards of fig-trees, but for the most part they are entirely open : 
the sowing being finished, they remove again, for the sake of pasture, 
to other parts of the same province, in which they continue to reside, 
as they cannot move out of a province without leave being first obtained 
rem the emperor : thus they wander from place to place, until near 
harvest time, when they return and gather in their crops which they 
have sowed, and which are considered safe from the flocks, herds, 
and hands of other tribes, by common consent or interest, as all rove 
about in a similar way, having no fixed habitations ; yet sometimes 
one tribe sows, and another reaps the fruit of its labour, but that is 
only done by force of arms. 

The Moorish Arabs are rather below the middle stature : of a dark 
complexion, resembling that between the mulatto and a white man, 
with long black hair and black eyes : they are strong and healthy : 
they wear round their bodies a woollen haick, which does not cover 
their heads, and go without any other clothing : their legs and feet are 
generally bare ; their beards long ; their cheek-bones high ; their 
noses regularly hooked ; their lips thin ; and they are as hardy a race 
of men as exists ; perhaps, indeed, with the exception of the wander- 
ing Arabs. The women wear a kind of a garment made of a haick, 
through the midst of which they thrust their head and arms to keep it 
up — it hangs down to their knees, and nearly covers their breasts ; they 
have a fold behind, like those living on the desart, in which they carry 
their young children ; they all stoop forward very much ; are treated 
by their husbands as mere necessary slaves ; are obliged to milk the 
cows, camels, mares, goats, sheep, and asses ; make the butter» and 
spin and weave the tent-cloth and clothing by hand for themselves and 
families. They both spin and weave in the same manner as the Arab 
women of the desart, and bring all the water they use in large pitchers 
on their shoulders, let the distance be ever so great : they take care 
of, and help to draw the water for the flocks of sheep, and goats, 
and herds of cattle ; but the men manage the camels and horses. 
They grind their wheat and barley in their hand-mills, which are the 
same as on the desart and in Suse, as already described, and they make 
cakes, which they roast in the fire. The women are, in fact, complete 
slaves : they are obliged to strike their tents when they remove, and 
pack them on camels, with all the other stuff that is possessed by the 
family — to pitch the tent again, and pack away the stuff, &c. &c. while 
the men take upon themselves to lord it over them, and drive them 
about at pleasure, only looking after the flocks and herds, and punish- 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 221 

tng the women and girls, if any are lost : the men also plough and sow 
tne land, and attend to the reaping and threshing out the corn. The 
sickle they reap with is nothing more than a knife with a blade of 
about a foot long, with the point bent inwards : the principal part o* 
the labour in this business, they also oblige the women to perform. 

Their law permits them to have seven wives, but it is recommended 
to them by their prophet to have only one, in order to prevent conten- 
tion in the family. When they increase, however, in wealth or sub- 
stance, they need more help, and instead of hiring or buying slaves, 
they take more wives ; and on this economical and agreeable plan, 
they make out to manage the affairs of their household. They are the 
same race of people in appearance and manners, as the Arabs of the 
desart, and have bartered their liberty for the comforts afforded by a 
country susceptible of cultivation. The Arabs are said to have con- 
tinued migrating gradually from the desarts and other parts of Arabia 
into Africa, ever since the irruptions of the first Saracens, by joining 
themselves in small numbers to the returning caravans which go yearly 
from Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, &c. on a pilgrimage to visit 
the tomb of their prophet at Mecca. These caravans carry large 
quantities of goods with them, and make a trading trip of it, as well 
as a religious duty ; and many of the pilgrims return home very rich 
for Moors. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

The present Arabs and ancient Jews compared. 

Soon after 1 was seized on as a slave by the wandering Arabs of the 
great Western Desart, 1 was struck with the simplicity of their lires 
and manners, and contrasted the circumstances of their keeping ca- 
mels, living in tents, and wandering about from day to day, with the 
simplicity of the lives of the old Jewish patriarchs, who also lived in 
tents, had camels, and wandered about from place to place; possessed 
men-sevants and maid-servants — that is, they owned slaves ; but as 
they for the most part lived in countries where the soil was capable of 
culture, they also had flocks of sheep and goats, and herds of cattle, 
and asses ; yet the patriarchs lived in a thirsty land for a part of the 
time, and were often in want of water, as well as of bread. My mind 
was also strongly impressed with the similarity between the patriarchal 
form of government, and that prevailing among the Arabs at the pre- 
sent day, which is, in the strictest sense of the word, paternal; the 
father of each family being its supreme and absolute head : the wan- 
dering Arabs will submit to no other control, and they actually reve- 
rence" their fathers and the old men of their tribe next to the Deity 
himself, and pay, without the least apparent compulsion, the most 
cheerful and implicit obedience to their orders and wishes. When 
1 became more acquainted with the Arabs, I observed that the 
manner of salutation between strangers was very much like that o] 
the Jewish fathers, as recorded in Holy Writ, and which also 
prevailed among the inhabitants of the country where* they so 



222 

journed. When a stranger approached an Arab's tent, he first find* 
out which way it is pitched ; then, going round until he gets directly 
in front, he draws near slowly, until within about one hundred yards 
and stops, but always with his weapon in his hand, ready for defence, 
and then turns his back towards the tent : when he is perceived by 
those in and about the tent, (who are always upon the look-out,) and 
they come forth, he bows himself nearly to the earth twice, and wor- 
ships : upon which one from the tent takes some water in a bowl, and 
advances towards him ; this is done by the head of the family, if he 
be at home, or by his eldest son : if none of the males are present, 
one of the women goes forward with her bowl of water, or something 
else, either to eat or drink, if they have any ; if not, they take a skin, 
or roll of tent-cloth, to make a shelter with for the stranger. As they 
come within a few yards of the stranger, they ask, " Is it peace ?" and 
being answered in the affirmative, they mutually say, " Peace be with 
you, with your father's house, your family, and all you possess ;" then 
touching the fingers of the right hands together, they snap them, and 
carrying them to their lips, kiss them,- which is the same with them as 
to kiss each other's hand ; and thence, 1 presume, is derived the com- 
pliment now in such general use among the polite Spaniards, which 
is to say, in saluting a gentleman, " Beso de usted las manos" — I kiss 
your hands ; if a lady, " I kiss your feet." 

The Arab manner of worshipping the Deity, as 1 have already de- 
scribed, is by bowing themselves to the earth, and touching their faces 
to the ground : after bowing to the ground six times, they say, " God 
is great and good, and Mohammed is his holy prophet :" this is their 
confession of faith. After that, they offer up their petitions, that God 
will keep them under his special protection ; that he will direct them 
in the right way ; that he will lead them to fountains or wells of living 
water ; that God will scatter their enemies, and deliver them from all 
those who lie in wait to do them mischief ; that he wiil prosper their 
journeys, and enrich them with the spoil of their enemies, &c. and 
they afterwards recite some poetry, which they call sacred. Since my 
being redeemed, I have been told that the form of worship now in 
practice among those people, was taught them by Mohammed ; but 
as these forms do not differ materially from the forms of worship prac- 
tised by Abraham and the other old patriarchs, and those of the peo- 
ple among whom they dwelt in the land of Canaan and elsewhere, I 
am inclined to believe that the artful prophet did not change their 
ancient mode of worshipping the Deity, but on the contrary, simplifi- 
ed and sanctioned their long established customs, which had continued 
among that singular race of men ever since the time of Abraham ; and 
that the only innovations or alterations he ventured to make in that 
respect, were in appointing set times for performing those religious 
duties ; enjoining, besides, frequent purifications, by washing fJiem- 
selves with water, and thus inculcating cleanliness, so indispensably 
necessary to preserve health in hot countries, as a religious duty. 

When travelling along the great desart, near its northern border, we 
fell in with flocks of sheep and goats, which were kept by the women 
and children, who were also obliged to water them ; and when, after 
our arrival in Suse, while we were travelling on its immense plain, and 
many small cities or towns were in sight at the same time on every 



OBSERVATIONS ON AFRICA. 223 

side, with nigh stone walls, gates, and bars, and I learned that each 
one was independent, and under the command or government of its 
own chief, who generally styled himself a prince; and when 1 heara 
the story of the destruction of Widnah, and other devastations commit- 
ted by the wandering Arabs in their vicinity, I could not avoid figuring 
to myself, and observing to my companions at the same time, that the 
country of Suse must now resemble in appearance the land of Canaan 
in the time of Joshua, both in regard to its numerous little walled 
cities; its fertile soil ; and in many other respects ; and that the fre- 
quent irruptions of the hordes of wild Arabs from the desart, destroy- 
ing and laying waste the country, and the cities they are able to over- 
power, bore a strong resemblance to the conduct of the ancient Israe- 
lites, when led from the desarts of Arabia into the cultivated country 
near them ; with this difference, however, that the Israelites were then 
particularly guided, supported, and protected by Divine power, and 
consequently were enabled to act in unison, and with decisive effect 
against those small, feeble, and ill-constructed cities. 

In travelling from Mogadore to Tangier, in the empire of Morocco, 
and coming to those parts of the provinces of Abdah and Duquella. 
which are entirely peopled by Arabs living in tents, and in a primitive 
or wandering state, (their tents being formed of the same materials, 
and pitched in the same manner as those of the Arabs on the desart,) 
I observed, that these people were of a much lighter complexion than 
those on the desart ; but that circumstance, in all probability, was 
owing to the climate's being more temperate ; to their being less ex- 
posed to the rays of the sun, and better clothed ; yet their features 
were nearly the same, and those of both bear a strong resemblance to 
those of the Barbary Jews, who also have black eyes and Arab noses, 
lips, hair, and stature, and whose complexion is but a shade or two 
lighter than that of the Moorish x\rabs, which is chiefly occasioned by 
their different modes of life, the Jews all living in cities, and the Arabs 
in the fields : the Jews, however, are stouter men than the Arabs, 
owing, most likely, to the unrestrained intercourse between the lusty 
Moors and Jewesses, &c. That these Arabs and those who live on 
the desart, are the same race of men, I have not the smallest doubt : 
their height, shape, eyes, noses, and other features, together with their 
customs, manners, and habits, being essentially the same. Between 
the Barbary Jews and the present Arabs, there is only a slight diffe- 
rence in their religious ceremonies and belief, and both very much re- 
semble those forms which were followed by the old Jewish patriarchs, 
and their fathers and brethren, as recorded in the Book of Genesis. 
There is one more singular coincidence between the customs of the 
old Israelites and present Arabs, which, though seemingly unimpor- 
lant, 1 shall, nevertheless, mention. The Arabs, both on the desart 
and-in Morocco, when they have occasion to go abroad from their tent, 
m order to obey one of the most pressing calls of nature, always 
carry a stick or paddle with them, in the manner and for the same 
purpose as is mentioned of the ancient Israelites in the twenty-third 
chapter of Deuteronomy, the twelfth and thirteenth verses. The men 
always sit close to the ground to urinate, and compelled us, while 
slaves, to do the same : the men never touch the virile member with 
their hands. 



224 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

In journeying through the province of Duquella, I learned from 
occular demonstration what was meant when certain personages are 
described in Holy Writ as having an abundance of flocks and herds, 
&c. We stopped and pitched our tent one night within a douhar, 
which I found in the morning to consist of one hundred and fifty-four 
tents : they were pitched in form of a hollow square, and about fifty 
yards apart, occupying a large space of ground, and all of them facing 
inwards : before each of these tents, the owner had made his beasts lie 
down for the night. I felt a desire to know the number of animals 
each man possessed, and in order to make an estimate of the whole 
with correctness, I stopped, counted, and set down the whole number 
that lay in separate flocks before thirty of the tents nearest to where 1 
was, and then made an average of their numbers for each tent, which 
were nineteen camels, eleven head of neat cattle, six asses, fifty-five 
sheep, and fifty-two goats : the whole of the horses within the douhar, 
1 counted separately ; they amounted to one hundred and eighty-six. 
I think the flocks 1 counted were a fair average of the whole, and I 
compute them accordingly ; that is, two thousand nine hundred and 
twenty-six camels ; one hundred and eighty-six horses ; eight thou- 
sand seven hundred and seventy sheep ; eight thousand and eight 
goats ; and nine hundred and twenty asses : — they had besides 
a considerable number of dung-hill fowls, and a great plenty of 
dogs. I also counted the number of inhabitants occupying fifty tents, 
which averaged, including slaves and children, nine to a tent, or one 
thousand three hundred and eighty-six in all. These Arabs lead a 
pastoral life, and though the amount of their flocks, at first sight, ap- 
pears great, yet when it is taken into view that their only employment 
is to feed cattle, in which consists their whole riches or wealth, and 
their daily support, the number will not be considered as unreasonably 
great. This douhar was said to belong to the Sheick Mohammed ben 
Abdehla, a very old man, (whom I saw,) and to consist of his family 
only ; if so, this Arab must have been very rich and powerful, even like 
Abraham the patriarch, who had three hundred and eighteen servants 
born in his own house, able to go forth to war, (Genesis xiv. 14,) or 
like pious Job, who was pre-eminently blessed with flocks and herds, 
and was also, most probably, an Arab. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

The author ships his companions on hoard a vessel for Gibraltar, ana 
sets out himself to travel by land for Tangier— Villany of his Jeio com- 
panion— Account of a great Moorish saint — Description of the coun- 
try — of the toivn of el Ksebbah and Saffy. 

Having recovered my strength, so as to be able to undertake a 
journey by land, and being desirous of viewing that part of the empire 
of Morocco which lies between Mogadore and Tangier, nd also to 
visit the American Consul General residing at that place, in order to 
make effectual arrangements for the redemption of the remainder of 
my unfortunate crew, should they be yet alive, I shipped my compa- 
nions on board a Genoese schooner that navigated under the English 



TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 226 

flag, bound for Gibraltar, where I intended to meet them. 1 drew 
bills on my friend, Mr. Horatio Sprague, of Gibraltar, for the amount 
of cash actually expended by Mr. Willshire in obtaining our redemp- 
tion, and in furnishing us with clothing, though he had given, both ta 
me and my men, many articles of his own clothing, for which he would 
not receive payment, nor would he accept of any compensation for 
his trouble, for our board, nor for the extraordinary expenses incurred 
in consequence of his exertions to render us every assistance, as well 
as every service and comfort in his power, during the whole of our 
stay with him for about two months. 

Elio Zagury, the Jew whom I have before mentioned, was also go- 
ing to set out for Tangier by land, and as my friend did not wisj me 
to be troubled with the arrangements for provisions, &c. on the toad, 
he agreed with Zagury, for him to furnish me every thing necessary 
during the journey, except a bed, and paid him the amount agreed on 
beforehand, which was a nandsome sum. 

On the 4th day of January, 1816, all being previously prepared, 
the schooner sailed with Mr. Savage, Burns, Clark, and Horace on 
board. After seeing her safe out of the harbour, I went, accompanied 
by Mr. Willshire, into the Jews' town, to the house of old Zagury, 
where 1 took my leave of the Jew priest before mentioned, and we 
proceeded without the northern city gate, where the Jews are permit- 
ted to mount their mules or asses. I then found that the mule on 
which I was to travel, was already loaded with two large trunks, one 
mattress, and provisions in proportion, and was told by Zagury that I 
must get on the top of this cargo, and ride the best way I could, as 
he should procure no other mule on my account. I was not at all 
pleased at this plan, but my friend told me it was only a Jew's trick, 
and such a one as every man may expect to be served who has any 
dealings with those villains : he then ordered his own mule to be 
brought for me, which was ready saddled in the gateway, and kept 
there, I believe, for the purpose, anticipating deceit on the part of the 
Jew; though in this, as in every other instance, he endeavoured to 
lighten as much as possible, the weight of the obligations he had laid 
me under. His mule was one of the handsomest and finest I had ever 
seen : to have refused riding it at that time, would have been to doubt 
his friendship; so I mounted the mule, and proceeded northward in 
company with Mr. Willshire and his trusty friend, Rais bel Cossim, 
on horseback. We rode on, conversing together, for about two hours, 
along the sand beach, when we stopped a few moments, and took 
some refreshments. It was there I took my leave of my benefactor. 
This painful parting I shall not attempt to describe : a last look was 
at length taken, and a final adieu uttered, when he rode back towards 
the city, and I proceeded on my journey. We went silently along, 
and mounted up the bank. Our company consisted of young Zagu- 
ry, an old Jew named David ; a Jew servant ; two Moors, who were 
the muleteers, and an imperial soldier for our guide, well mounted on 



a high spirited horse, and fully armed : he was a fine looking fellow, 

half negro, and p 
spicuous in a first rate Moor or Arab. From these soldiers the em- 



though half negro, and possessed all that suavity of manners so con- 



peror chooses his alcayds and officers for the army; if they only 
ptoaseaa talents and bravery, their colour is disregarded. The Jew§ 



226 CAPTAIN riley's narrative. 

called him alcayd, by way of making themselves appear moie respec- 
table, and me they styled el Tibib del Sultan, or the Sultan's doctor. 

We proceeded on till near dark through a dreary country, when we 
came to the Omlays, or three springs ; there we found a number of 
travellers watering their camels, mules, and asses. Having let our 
beasts drink, we turned aside a little to the south, in a ploughed field, 
near a few stone houses, and pitched for the night. We had a bell 
tent, which was a very good one, made of two thicknesses of canvass ; 
it was large enough to contain two beds spread out, and very tight, 
and left plenty of room besides for our other things. We had with 
U3 a box containing tea, coffee, sugar, &c. coals to make a fire, and 
ajl the utensils necessary for cooking : so we had a cup of tea, and 
ate some coos-coo-soo for our supper, and went to sleep very com- 
fortably. The soldier and the muleteers slept outside *the tent on 
the ground, wrapped up only in their haicks : this is the constant 
Diactice of the Moors and Arabs when travelling, and they wonder 
that people of other nations do not prefer that method to any other ; 
they carry this custom so far, that many of the male inhabitants of 
the cities sleep on the tops of their houses (which are flat) in prefe- 
rence to sleeping on their mattresses under cover. 

At daylight on the morning of the 5th, all our company were in a 
bustle, being busily engaged in striking our tent, and loading the 
mules, while a cup of coffee was preparing, and some eggs boiling 
for our breakfast ; and we set off on our journey long before sunrise. 
We travelled along this day on uneven ground, through groves of 
arga trees, which grew thereabouts spontaneously, and were then 
loaded with the oil-nut of various sizes and colours, from a deep 
green through, to a lively yellow. The very shrubs and bushes 
among which our path lay, were in blossom, and diffused a most de- 
lightful fragrance. We still heard the roaring of the troubled ocean 
dashing against this inhospitable coast, and which had been constant- 
ly dinning my ears for more than two months ; for it being urged 
towards this coast by the continual trade-winds, it never ceases its 
loud roarings, which may generally be heard at the distance of from 
twenty to thirty miles from the sea. The Atlas mountains were still 
in view, whose pointed tops, now covered with snow, seemed to glitter 
in the sun, though at a very great distance. About sunset we came 
near a village consisting of about twenty stone houses, flat roofed, one 
story high, and as many more built with reeds or sticks, in form of a 
sugar-loaf, with a small mosque or place of worship in the midst. 
Near this village, which was not walled in, the first I had seen of the 
kind, we pitched our tent, and soon after this was done, a great num- 
ber of unarmed Moors, probably four or five hundred, came by turns 
to look at us, and inquire who I was. At the same time the owner 
of the village sent to tell us we were welcome, and that he was sorry 
it was not in his power to furnish barley for our mules, for his whole 
crops had been cut off by the locusts for the last three years : that he 
had bought twenty ducats worth that day, but it was all gone, as an 
unusual number of travellers had called on him ; however, he sent U9 
a loin of good mutton, which I was pressed to accept, and about two 
dozen of eggs ; our Moors were also supplied with coos-coo-soo 
I learned from Zagury, that this man was esteemed a great saint by 



TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 23? 

all the Moors ; that his name was Mohammed Iljactesba ; that he taught 
all pious Moors who wished it, to read in the Koran, and the Moham- 
medan laws : that he generally had from one to three hundred scholars 
or students, who came from every part of the empire ; that he taught 
all who came, and supplied them with provisions gratis; that his wife 
and one daughter prepared the victuals and cooked for all those peo- 
ple, without any assistance whatever, which was considered by tne 
Moors a continual miracle, and this, Zagury assured me, he for his 
own part, firmly believed ; that he entertained all travellers who chose 
to call on him, free of expense : but, added he, where all his property 
comes from to enable him to pay these enormous expenses, nobody 
knows. 

It was soon reported about that an English doctor was in the tent, 
and the old saint sent and begged me to call and see him : so taking 
Zagury with me to act as interpreter, 1 was conducted by some Moors 
to his presence, where I was welcomed by a withered old man, who 
was seated on a mat on the outside, and leaning against the wall of 
his house — it was the saint : he requested me to sit down near him, 
t iind then inquired of Zagury who I was : Zagury satisfied him on that 
point, and gave him besides a short sketch of my late disasters : the 
saint said he was a friend to Christians, and men of every other reli- 
gion ; that we were all children of the same heavenly Father, and 
ought to treat each other like brothers : he also remarked that God 
was great and good, and had been very merciful to me, for which 1 
ought to be thankful the remainder of my life. He next informed me, 
that he was very lame in his legs, occasioned in the first place by a 
stone falling on one of his feet, that had lamed and laid him up for 
three or four months, and when he had so far recovered as to be able 
to ride out on his mule, the animal fell down with him, and injured 
his lame foot and leg so much that he had not since been able to use 
it : this, he said, happened about a year ago, and within the last (e\v 
months, his other leg had become affected, and he had now lost the 
use of both of them, which was extremely painful : he said he did 
not murmur at his lameness, because he knew it came from God, and 
was a punishment for some of his sins ; yet he hoped the Almighty 
would be merciful, and pardon his offences, and permit him to walk 
again, so that he might take care of his guests, and do more good in 
the world : he also told me that the number who were then studying 
the Sacred Writings with him, amounted to about three hundred. I 
examined his legs ; they were very thin, and yet seemed to be consu- 
ming with a feverish heat ; no skin was broken, and 1 concluded that 
he laboured under an inveterate chronic disorder, particularly as the 
joints were much swelled. 1 asked him if he had ever applied any 
thing as a remedy, or taken any medicine for this disorder : he said, 
no, except that he had bound some Arabic writing round them, fur- 
nished by a man eminently skilled in the science of witchcraft; that he 
had also kept them wet with oil, but had received no benefit whatever 
from either of those applications : he further said, he knew some men 
were endowed with the gift of healing, and hoped that I could pre • 
scribe something that would ease his pains. 1 told him thatl felt dis- 
posed to render him all the service in my power ; that I would see 
what medicine I had, and would consider of his case : then assuming 
L 



228 captain Riley's narrative. 

the air of a quack doctor, I retired to my tent with a very thoughtfu. 
countenance. Our conversation was carried on by the help of Zagury 
as an interpreter. I really wished to administer some relief to this 
good man, who was afflicted with such a painful disorder, and accor- 
dingly prepared some soap pills, which was the only medicine I had 
with me, and sent them to him, with directions how to take them. I 
also advised him to discontinue the use of oil ; to rub his limbs fre- 
quently with flannel cloths, in order to promote the circulation of the 
fluids ; to endeavour to walk every day with the assistance of two men 
using his legs as much as possible, even if they did pain him, and to 
bind them up in fine salt every night, while the heat continued : this, 
I fancied, might allay the fever. 1 also directed a drink to be made 
for him, by boiling the roots of some particular herbs in water, and 
thus forming a kind of decoction. Having explained the nature of his* 
disorder to him, in the best manner 1 was able, which gave him. some 
encouragement, 1 retired to my tent. Many of the Moors came and 
wanted me to prescribe something for their various disorders, which 1 
did according to the best of my judgment, and the medicines I had 
within my power. Among the rest, was a poor old grey-headed man ; 
he came near, and thrusting his head under the tent, cried out — Tibib, 
Tibib : (doctor, doctor :) my guard was going to drive him away, but 
I told him to let him alone, mat I might find out what ailed him, for he 
seemed to be in great distress — so 1 told Zagury to ask him what his 
disorder was : this he made known without ceremony — he said, he 
had been a husband to three wives ; that two of them, who had died, 
loved him exceedingly ; that his present wife was very young, fat, and 
handsome, and yet she was so cold, that notwithstanding all his ca- 
resses, she could not return his love : nis case was, indeed, a very 
plain one, but to prescribe a remedy, needed some reflection — so the 
Jew told him to go away, and return in half an hour. When he re- 
turned, 1 pretended to, and did sympathize with him in his afflictions, 
and recommended that he should set her about no kind of work ; that 
he should entreat her kindly ; feed her on the dish called shanah ; i. e. 
peas baked in an oven, and swimming in beef's marrow, with a plenty 
of soft boiled eggs and rich spices in her coos-coo-soo, &c. &c. — 
that he should join with her in all her repasts, and chew opium him- 
self, if he could procure any, and by no means to lodge in the same, 
room with her oftener than once in two weeks. He promised very 
faithfully to obey my directions, though he did not seem to relish the 
last item of advice ; but I assured him, with much gravity, that I had 
done my very best ; so he left me with a shower of blessings for my 
kindness, after having bestowed two dozen of fresh eggs on my Jew 
interpreter for his trouble. The Moors who were the pupils of the 
saint, joined in prayer, and chanted over sacred poetry for about an 
hour, on account of his disorder, begging of God to heal their bene- 
factor, Sic. 

January the 6th, we started early in the morning, after 1 had taken 
leave of the good old man. We proceeded on our journey, descend- 
ing the hills to the north about half an hour, when we saw one of the 
Moors who waited on the old man the night before, running after us, 
and hallooing very l«udly to make us stop, which we did, and he sooa 
came up, bringing Za&ury's gold watch, which he had put under his 



TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. S?*9 

head the night before on the ground where our tent was pitched, and 
had left it through forgetfulness and haste : this watch, together with 
an elegant gold seal, chain, and trinkets, was worth at least three hun- 
dred dollars. The Moor generously refused any compensation for his 
trouble, and 1 told Zagury it was well for him that the people where 
he left it were not Jews : to this he assented, and said that he believed 
that the saint was the most honest man in the world. 

After travelling about two hours in a northerly direction, we came 
near the ruins, or rather the walls of an old town or fortress — it was 
situated on the left bank of the river Tensift : the walls were built in a 
square form ; were about one mile in circuit, and flanked with thirty 
small towers, with embrazures, where cannon might have been mount- 
ed. Apart of the southern wall had fallen down ; it was very thick, 
and within was nothing but a heap of stones and ruins. On inquiry, I 
was told by my guard that this town was built by the former Sultan, 
Sidi Mohammed, in order to secure a passage across the river, when 
the people of the province of Abdah rebelled against him ; that it was 
well garrisoned and mounted with a great many cannon, and called el 
Ksebbah, or the strong lion-like fortress ; that it was dismantled by the 
present emperor, who took away the cannon ; and that the garrison, 
and all the inhabitants were destroyed a (ew years ago by the plague, 
since which no soul has ventured to live in it. We rude on, and cross- 
ed this stream, dignified by the name of river, but which, in fact, is no 
more in the dry season than an American brook. The country, in its 
valley, which is very wide, is rich and level ; is said to be overflowed 
in a rainy season, and was at this time cultivated in many parts. We 
went along its right bank, and saw the site or ruins of what is called 
old Swearah, on its left bank, near its entrance into the sea : there are 
now only a few huts and four saint-houses to be seen ; all the other 
parts of the town are buried in sand, blown from the seashore. The 
river, near its mouth, is both deep and wide, and the soldier said, it 
was once a considerable port, where vessels could enter, but its mouth 
is now entirely dammed up with sand ; only leaving a small passage 
for the water, which runs off in a shallow stream to the sea, over a 
beach of two hundred yards in breadth, and so high that the tide can- 
not enter the river's mouth. From the banks of this river, we proceed- 
ed towards the seashore, and descending the high steep bank, we 
entered between it and the first bank from the ocean, and travelled 
along a delightful inclined plane, about four miles in breadth : the 
surface of this plane was covered with verdure, and flowers of all the 
variegated colours of the rainbow, resembling in appearance the richest 
Turkey carpet. 

About the middle of the afternoon, we met a courier fourteen days 
from Tangier : having an inkhorn and paper with me, I wrote by him 
a few lines to my friend Wiltshire, and we proceeded along towards 
Saffy, pronounced by the natives S'fee. This inclined plane was 
the most beautiful that can be imagined ; speckled over with herds of 
cattle and numerous flocks of sheep, which were quietly grazing on 
its rich herbage. As it was the sixth day of the week, and the Jews 
with me were obliged by their religion to stop the seventh, during 
their Sabbath, I had a mind to pitch our tent on this delightful plane, 
and pass the Sabbath of rest, by reposing on its downy bosom, tind 



230 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE 

inhaling its delicious fragrance : but Zagury assured me it was not 
safe to lodge there, and that he must enter S'fee in order to recruit 
his stock of provisions, for that a Jew could eat no kind of meat ex- 
cept it was killed by a priest of his nation. He was exceedingly 
superstitious, though educated in England, and we kept on towards 
Saffy. When in sight of the walls of that city, we came near a large 
saint-house, on a cliff near the sea's brink — here our soldier and 
muleteers made the Jews dismount, and pass this house barefooted, 
though at half a mile's distance from our path : he told me that the 
house was built over the remains of a great saint ; that every man who 
was not a Moslemin must walk past it barefooted: mat people came 
to visit it from all quarters to be cured of their diseases : but, added he, 
as you are a good man. and very weak, you may ride past, but must 
pay the saint one dollar towards keeping his house in repair. I did 
not much relish this mode of giving away my money, and told the 
soldier so ; but he replied, that no Christian must pass it without this 
tribute, and that it would be demanded from him on his entrance into 
S'fee. 1 was convinced it was only a trick of his to extort money ; 
but there was no getting off, and so 1 paid him the dollar, telling him 
at the same time 1 should set it down as a debt due to the saint's 
account, and presumed he would have no objection to repay me in 
another world : " No, (said he,) that saint was very liberal in this 
world, and will, no doubt, pay you both principal and interest in the 
other, and intercede for your admission into paradise in the bargain :" 
he was a shrewd fellow, and understood my feelings on the subject 
perfectly. 

After the Jews had walked about a mile, they were again permitted 
to ride. We approached the city on its southeast or fortress side : 
some ruins of its ancient walls were still visible, which proved it to 
have formerly been, at least, four times larger than at present. It was 
near night, and we went round the fortress, which appeared to be very 
strong, and was defended by a double wall : it is situated on an emi- 
nence, which not only commands the city that is attached to it below, 
but is also well situated for defending all the entrances into the town, 
and has a good number of cannon mounted on it : the whole appears 
extremely well calculated for defence, and I imagine it must origi- 
nally have been constructed by some eminent European engineer. 
A small brook of water runs from the east near the northern wall of 
the city. We entered it at the eastern gate, and proceeded through 
a crowd of spectators to the house of Zagury's Jew friend. The 
Jews were obliged to dismount, and walk into the city, but they allowed 
me to ride. Having entered the court, (for the building was very 
spacious, but had very much decayed, and was fast crumbling to the 
ground,) we ascended a broken staircase to the gallery of the first story 
aria" were conducted to a small room that had been shut up, appa- 
rently, for a long time : the unhinged door and shattered window- 
shutter were, however, removed to accommodate our company, and 1 
took a peep into the apartment : it was about ten feet square, and 
nearly filled with filth of almost every description ; the whole ferment- 
ing in rancid argan oil, which far exceeded in scent the most stinking 
fish or blubber oil. The effluvia arising from this newly opened bed 
of nastiness entering my olfactory nerves, was immediately transmit 



TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 231 

ted to my stomach, and brought on an instantaneous vomiting, which 
continued for about two hours without intermission, until my stomach 
was completely empty, and it threw up besides a considerable quan- 
tity of fresh blood : this abominable stench caused a nausea even in 
the Jews' stomachs; however, as there was no other place to lodge 
in, and the weather looked likely for rain, they cleared out this cham- 
ber, washed it with hot water, and fumigated it afterwards with burn- 
ing charcoal and brimstone ; Zagury taking care to observe, by way 
of recommendation, that this house was built by a Christian, and that 
i s occupants, who were his father's friends, were the most respecta- 
ble Jews in S'fee. The house was, indeed, large, and had been very 
commodious; but its tenants, consisting of about twenty miserable 
dirty families, did not choose to lend nor let to us a better apartment, 
and after refreshing myself with a cup of strong tea, my stomach 
became composed, and 1 went through, in the course of the evening, 
with their religious ceremonies, in company with the Jews, as 1 have 
before described. 

In Saffy the Jews live in company with, i. e. promiscuously among, 
the Moors in adjoining houses. On their Sabbath, all the men belong 
ing to the house went to the synagogues, and the women, in the mean 
time, decked themselves in their best attire ; they had already stained 
the insides of their hands and fingers, between every joint, and then 
finger-nails, yellow ; had borrowed and put on fine ear-rings and neck- 
laces of pearl and amber, and golden chains, golden hearts, and other 
trinkets ; these hung down upon their naked bosoms : they wore brace- 
lets on their ankles and wrists. Their hair, which was long and black, 
was newly braided, and greased over smoothly with argan oil : they 
had painted their eyes and eyebrows black, and the most of them wore 
slippers; thus tricked up in all their finery, two of the most hand- 
some and stylishly dressed damsels, with a number of the second-rate, 
came round to that side of the gallery where 1 sat quietly and alone, 
writing down notes for my journal: they first expressed their wonder 
at my manner of writing from left to right ; then at the letters I formed, 
&c. — and having, by this method, succeeded in diverting my atten- 
tion from what I was about, the two smartest looking girls, who were 
about sixteen and eighteen years of age, with quite pretty faces, and 
richly dressed, invited me to go with them, and see their father's room : 
my curiosity prompted me to comply, and 1 suffered them to lead me 
along into their chamber, where their mother, a very fleshy middle 
aged woman, was siting on a mattress ; and as they had no other seat, 
they invited me to sit down on the same bed beside her. After due 
salutations, the old lady left the room, shutting the door after her. 
The object of these sirens was to get money from me ; but finding 1 
was able to withstand all their temptations, they at last permitted me 
to retire, but not before they had tried every indelicate art and entice- 
ment, of which they were complete mistresses, to effect their purpose. 
After 1 had withdrawn from the room. I was shown into all the other 
apartments on that floor, in succession, and their artifices were still 
pl;iyed off to win my cash, until, at length, finding that all their wiles 
proved abortive, they next had recourse to begging for money, but I 
had none to spare them. 

The Jews in Saffy are very poor and miserable ; they were generally 



232 CAPTAIN riley's narrative. 

about half clothed, and that with filthy rags. Saffy is a small place t 
and has no trade ; so that the Jews are hard put to it, and are obliged 
to resort to every base expedient in order to gain a mere subsistence. 
1 could not but pity their condition, and lament the depravity to which 
they all seemed to be prone, though, perhaps, oftentimes plunging 
into guilt from sheer necessity. 

This day 1 went in company with my guard to view the town and 
port of S'fee : the town is small, and strongly walled in on all sides: 
the walls, for the most part, are made of rough stone and lime, like 
those of Mogadore o v r Swearah, except that part next the sea, which 
is laid up with large hewn stone, and appears very strong : the walls 
are flanked with four towers, besides the el Ksebbah, on which cannon 
are mounted, and a battery at the water-port. The town lies very low, 
and is surrounded on all sides by hills, and appears to be the receptacle 
of all the filth of the country near it. Its streets are very narrow, 
crooked, irregular, and not paved: the houses are built of rough stone 
and lime ; have few windows next the streets ; are from one to three 
stories high, and flat roofed ; but, like the houses in the cities in Spain, 
have a court, the interior of which serves for a stable. The public 
buildings are three mosques, with high square towers, and a large hewn 
stone building, formerly occupied as a custom-house, but now unin- 
habited and falling to pieces. The Jews have also twelve small rooms, 
for the purpose of worshipping, which they call synagogues. The 
number of inhabitants in Saffy is computed at twenty thousand, that 
is, sixteen thousand Moors and four thousand Jews. The walls of 
the present town, including the fortress, are about one mile in circum- 
ference. The inhabitants of the city are supplied with good water, 
brought in kegs on asses from the brook that washes its northern walls. 
All the cattle, sheep, &c. that are owned in and feed near S'fee, are 
driven within the walls every night, and from its appearance, no dirt is 
ever carried out of the city : the filth in the streets was in many parts 
two feet deep at the least, so that it was quite impossible for me to get 
along through the mire without being besmeared with it up to my 
knees. Passing along one street as well as I could pick my way, 1 
lost both my shoes in the mud, but some Jew boys, recovered them 
again ; for which service 1 had to pay them half a dollar. 

The bay of SafFy is formed by the projection of Cape Cantin ; is 
very spacious, and well defended by that cape from the common trade 
winds. Vessels visiting that place are obliged to anchor very broad in the 
offing, and where the ground is said to be very foul : the landing-place 
is either on a sand beach, upon which the surf breaks with considera- 
ble violence, or else in among some rocks, where there was formerly a 
kind of basin, which is now nearly filled up with sand. There were 
about twenty fishing boats on this beach, which were in a bad state 
of repair. The port of Saffy has been shut, by order of the Sultan, 
for several years. A circular fort stands on a hill to the north, and 
within half cannon shot of the town, and which completely commands 
it : it had been lately dismantled, and the cannon carried into the city, 
for fear it would be taken possession of by the field Moors and Arabs 
during the late rebellion. The land in the vicinity of this city is foi 
the most part uncultivated. 



TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 333 



CHAPTER XXX1I1. 

Continuation of the journey — Description of Asbedre — Of a flight of 
locusts — Of the destroying locust of Africa — Mazagan, Azamore, 
Darlbeda, Fidallah — Arrival at Rhabat — Of Rliabat. 

We left Saffy early on the morning of the 7th of January, and found 
the country, as we proceeded northward, more open, but not much 
cultivated : the ground was covered with flowers of different kinds, 
and every shrub was also in full blossom, and seemed to vie in beauty 
with its neighbour, while their blended fragrance rising, with the ex- 
haling dews, and wafted along by a gentle land breeze, conveyed to 
the soul sensations of the most exquisite delight. We travelled along 
during this whole day on uneven ground, frequently meeting large 
droves of loaded camels and mules, and passing many groups of tents, 
some formed of woollen cloth, and pitched in the same manner as the 
Arab tents on the desart, and others with reeds ; regaling ourselves 
occasionally with milk, which we found to be excellent, and in great 
abundance, and at night pitched our tent near one of those flying 
camps which are here called douhars. 

On the morning of the 8th, we started very early, and after riding 
about three hours, came to the walls of an old Portuguese town and 
fortress, now called Asbedre, but in ruins and deserted. It is situ- 
ated on the second bank from the sea, one hundred feet above a 
beautiful harbour or small port and sound, formed by an opening 
through the first bank, which resembles the entrance of a dock : it ap- 
peared shallow, and one vessel only can enter at a time. This port 
seems to be capable of containing a vast number of small vessels, where 
they might ride in perfect safety in all seasons of the year : here is 
also, near the walls of the ruin, a small Moorish settlement of badly 
built houses and tents. Passing this, we entered into one of the 
richest valleys ever formed by nature : the face of the earth here was 
smiling with cultivation, and speckled over with flocks and herds : 
here thousands of oxen, sheep, goats, and camels, horses, and asses, 
were peaceably feeding in concert, while hundreds of the inhabitants 
were busied in tilling the rich soil, in sowing wheat and barley, and 
cutting down, with a common sword, the weeds that grew where they 
had reaped their last crops, higher than their heads, and some of them 
more than an inch in thickness, in order to admit the plough. This 
valley is bounded on the west by a long sound or narrow arm of the 
sea, in which the tide ebbs and flows many feet : the sea water enters 
it near Asbedre, and on its ri^ht : the valley is bounded by a hill of 
easy ascent: its mean breadth is about four miles, and its length about 
twenty miles. The valley contains hundreds of wells of excellent 
water, fitted with solid stone basins around their mouths, which were 
covered with large stones ; these serve to give drink to their flocks, 
and to quench the thirst of the weary labourer and traveller. Some of 
these wells were immensely deep, and a windlass was rigged to them 
to draw the water. 

Near the middle of this valley we etoDued to take our dinner : my 
20 • * yy 80 



234 

mind was absorbed in contemplating the riches and beauties of boun- 
tiful nature, when 1 observed something that appeared like a cloud of 
thick smoke rising over the hill at the northeast, and with the wind 
approaching us rapidly. I remarked to my Jew, that there must be a 
monstrous fire in that quarter ; no, said he, they are only locusts. In 
the mean time, the flight was fast approaching, and soon came within a 
short distance, and directly towards us. Every labourer's attention 
was instantly turned from his plough and other employment ; the 
oxen were stopped, and every one stood aghast with apprehension and 
dismay painted in strong colours on his anxious countenance, fearing 
his field was to become the prey of this devouring plague. The lo- 
custs began to descend, and alighted to the northward of us; very few 
passing where we sat : we soon mounted and rode on, and as we pro- 
ceeded we found the whole surface of the ground covered with them 
as thick as they could stand, and all busy in the work of destruction. 
As it was necessary for them to clear our road to avoid being crushed 
to death by the trampling of our mules, those in and near the path rose 
as we passed along, filling the air around us like one continued swarm 
of bees ; whilst thousands came in contact with our faces and bodies. 
In this situation, fearing my eyes would be injured, I covered my face 
with a transparent silk handkerchief, and pushed on my mule as fast 
as I could ; we were about two hours in passing this host of destroyers, 
which when on the wing made a sound, as finely described in Holy 
Writ, " like the rushing of horses into battle." The space covered 
by this flight extended in length for about eight miles along the road 
and three miles in breadth. After they had fairly alighted, the Moors, 
each resuming his labour, left the locusts in the full enjoyment of 
their repast, assuring us, that when they had filled themselves, which 
would be in the course of that day and the night, they would move off 
in a body with the wind, probably one day's march further, where they 
would again repeat their ravages, leaving the remainder for other suc- 
cessive flights ; but which they hoped, by the blessing of God, would 
not destroy the whole of their crops and all the herbage, as they had 
done some years within the last seven, during which space they had 
continued to lay waste the country. To see such fair prospects of 
crops thus blasted in a moment, would fill the inhabitants of more re- 
fined countries with feelings of despair, and their fields would be left 
untilled; while the Mohammedan considers it either as a just chastise- 
ment from heaven for his own or his nation's sins, or as directed by 
that fatality in which they all believe ; — thus when one crop is de- 
stroyed, if of wheat, they sow the same ground over again with barley, 
or plant it with Indian corn or peas, so as to have every possible 
chance for subsisting. These Arabs, while at their labour, are entirely 
naked, except a small piece of woollen cloth about their loins : — they 
make use of the same plough and harness as the people of Suse, 
already described, but in this part of the country thj^y plough with a 
pair of oxen : — and here let me beg the reader's indulgence for a few 
moments, while I undertake to give him a description of that wonder- 
ful insect, the destroying locust, thai so often lays waste* the fertile 
plains of Asia and the northern regions of Africa. I call him the de- 
stroying locust of Africa, because, as far as my memory serves me, he 
is first described in Holy Writ as a destroyer in the land of Egypt. 



TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 235 



DESCRIPTION. 



The locust of Africa is a ringed insect, which resembles both in 
size and appearance at the first view, the largest sized grasshopper of 
America ; but on a close inspection, diners from him very materially: 
the shape of his head and face is similar to that of a common sheep, 
or goat, being crowned with two long and tapering protuberances, 
which turn backwards like the horns of a goat. He has attached to 
his muzzle a pair of smellers or feelers, by the help of which he feels 
and gathers up the herbage about him, which he nips off, making a 
champing noise like a sheep when eating : he has four Wings, and the 
hinder pair are quite transparent : he has six legs, with two claws to 
each foot, which are divided something like the hoof of a sheep, but 
are more spread in proportion to their size, and pointed : he is stout 
about the neck, breast, and body ; the hinder part of which is forked, 
and armed with a hard bony substance, by the help of which he can 
make a hole in the ground. 

The largest African locust is above three inches in length, and nearly 
one inch in diameter : he has the most voracious appetite of any in- 
sect in the world, and devours grass, grain, the leaves of trees, and 
every green thing, with indiscriminate and merciless avidity. They 
go forth by bands or flights, and each flight is said to have a king, 
which directs its movements with great regularity. Loousts can only 
fly when their wings are perfectly dry ; and when they rise they always 
fly off before the wind, and fill the air like an immense cloud of thick 
smoke : when the leader alights upon the ground, all the flight follows 
his example as fast as possible. They are at times so numerous, that 
they may be said to cover the whole face of the country ; then they 
devour every spear of grass and grain, even eating it into the ground, 
dislodging it root and branch, cutting off all the leaves from the shrubs 
and trees, and sometimes all the bark from tender trees in a whole 
province, and that too in a very short space of time. 

The present African locusts are of the same race of insects that 
are mentioned in the Bible, as one of the plagues sent upon the land 
of Egypt, by the Almighty : they have always been considered in the 
countries where they usually commit ravages as a scourge from hea- 
ven, and as a punishment for the sins of the people. The locust has 
been described as being produced by some unknown physical cause, 
different from the ordinary mode of animal production : this is a mis- 
take : when I was in Mogadore, Mr. Willshire told me that the locusts 
were produced by a very well known and natural cause; that the 
female, a little before the flights disappear for the season, thrusts her 
hinder parts into the surface of the ground up to her wings, first having 
found a suitable spot of earth for that purpose: here she forms a cell 
in shape like that made by the bee, but from one to three inches in 
depth, and one to two inches in diameter. Having made the sides ol 
the cell strong by means of a glutinous matter, which she has the 
power of producing, she deposits her eggs, which are blackish, and 
so small as scarcely to be distinguishable with the naked eye: each 
cell is filled full, and contains an immense number of eggs : she then 
seals it over carefuiiv with the same kind of glutinofls matter of which 

L2 



236 CAPTAIN riley's narrative. 

the inside of the cell is formed, and covering it over with earth, she 

leaves it to be hatched out by the heat of the sun in due time, which 
generally happens in the month of January : the eggs in one cell alone 
produce a host of locusts, amo'inting to near a million. I opened and 
examined several cells in and near a garden, two miles from Moga- 
dore, and was much surprised to see the eggs lie thick together in 
one mass, like the spawn of fishes. I took up some of it on the tip 
of a sharp pointed penknife, and separating and counting the eggs, by 
means ot a microscope, as accurately as possible, 1 enumerated seven 
hundred and forty-one. Admitting that every egg would produce a 
locust, and that the number contained in the small portion on the 
point of the penknife was the one thousandth part of the whole mass, 
(which is a low estimate,) it proves that a single locust could produce 
in one season, even if she fills but one cell, upwards of half a million 
of her species. When the locust is hatched, he crawls out of the 
earth a little worm, of a light brown colour, and the whole cell of 
them are said to hatch about the same time. This host of worms 
creep forth from the ground, and commence their march, all going 
one course, generally towards the north or west, devouring every 
thing green that comes in their way," and leaving behind them a 
dismal scene of desolation. These reptiles grow so rapidly, that 
within the space of one week they are prepared for their transforma- 
tion, when they climb up a stout spear of grass or a twig, attach their 
skin fast to it, and by a sudden effort, burst the skin asunder at its 
head, and come forth a four-winged insect, with six legs ; they 
remain a short time in the sun to dry themselves and their wings 
before they attempt flying, which they commence by trying separately 
to fly a short distance at a time, and continue fluttering and skipping 
like grasshoppers for two or three days ; next they set off in a body 
on the wing, and fly from five miles to one hundred, without stopping, 
just as the country seems to please their taste, and they then go on, 
as I have -before described. 

Dry warm seasons are favourable to the breeding of locusts, and a 
very wet cold one is sure lo destroy them in the empire of Morocco 
until th£ flights come again from other parts. I do not know precisely 
the months in which the female locust makes her deposit of eggs, only 
that it is in the latter part of the summer, or first of the fall months. 
The old locusts having done their share of mischief, are either driven 
off by the winds into the sea, or die a natural death ; thus making room 
for a new and more hungry swarm. When all have disappeared in the 
Moorish empire, a few flights are seen to come from the borders of the 
desart, or from the coasts of Egypt, which again lay waste the whole 
country, until they are in their turn destroyed by frequent rains and 
cold damps, or strong gales from the land, which sweeps them into 
the ocean. It is said at Mogadore, and believed by the Moors, Chris- 
tians, and Jews, that the Bereberies inhabiting the Atlas mountains, 
have the power to destroy every flight of locusts that comes from the 
south and from the east, and thus ward off this dreadful scourge from 
nil the countries north and west of this stupendous ridge, merely by 
building large fires on those parts of the ridge over which the locusts 
are known always to pass, and in the season when they are likely to 
appear, which is at a definite period, within a certain number of days 



TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 237 

in almost every year. The Atlas being high, and the peaks covered 
with snow, these insects become chilled in passing over them, when 
seeing the fires, they are attracted by the glare, ana plunge into the 
flames. 1 do not know what degree of credit ought to be attached to 
this opinion, but it is certain that the Moorish Sultan used to pay a 
considerable sum of money yearly to certain inhabitants of the sides 
of the Atlas in order to keep the locusts out of his dominions. The 
Moors and Jews further affirm, that during the time in which the Sultan 
paid the aforesaid yearly stipend punctually, not a locust was to be 
seen in his dominions north and west of the Atlas, but that about six 
years ago the emperor refused to pay the stipulated sum, because no 
locusts troubled his country, and he thought he had been imposed 
upon; but it so happened that the very same year the locusts again 
made their appearance, and have continued to lay waste the country 
ever since. 

Locusts are esteemed very good food by the Moors, Arabs, and 
Jews, in Barbary, who catch large numbers of them in their season, 
and throw them, while jumping alive, into a pan of boiling argan oil: 
here they hiss and fry until their wings are burned off, and their bodies 
are sufficiently cooked, when they are poured out and eaten. I have 
seen many thousands cooked in this manner, and have had the curi- 
osity to taste them : they resemble in consistence and flavour, the 
yelks of hard boiled hen's eggs. After my arrival at Tangier, on 
sonversing with our Consul General, Mr. Simpson, respecting the 
^ocusts, he confirmed the substance of what I had before heard and 
observed myself in Barbary concerning them. This ravenous insect 
had actually caused a famine in that part of the country, so that Mr. 
Simpson, and the other Christian Consuls at Tangier, were obliged 
to send to Gibraltar, and buy American flour for the ordinary con- 
sumption of their families ; inferior American flour was then selling at 
Tangier for fifteen dollars per barrel, although before the scarcity 
occasioned by the locusts, the finest Barbary wheat used to be sold 
for one dollar and a half per barrel. 

Mr. Simpson further stated, that in the year 1814, (to the best of 
my recollection as to the time,) being with his family at his house on 
M"ount Washington, near Cape Spartel, and where the locusts covered 
the whole face of the ground at night, when he arose the next morn- 
'ng, he could not perceive a single one, and observed to his lady, that 
ill the locusts which had remained with them for a long time, and 
destroyed most of the herbage about the country, had disappeared; 
he wondered at first what had become of them; but after the fog in 
the strait was dissipated, looking at a vessel through his glass, that 
was passing out, he observed that the whole surface of the water was 
covered with something that appeared like a reddish scum, and ou 
reflection, it struck him, that tne locusts had attempted at night to 
migrate jjcross the straits into Spain, flying before the wind, which 
was fair*and blowing from the southward; but that they were either 
lost in the fog, or checked on their passage by contrary winds, (which 
generally prevail at night, particularly in the summer time,) in the 
middle of the strait; and were thus forced by fatigue and the humi- 
dity of the atmosphere, to settle upon the surface of the water, from 
whence they could not me, and were, consequently, ell drowned. 



233 CAPTAIN riley's narrative. 

That two days afterwards, a vessel arrived at Tangier from Gibraltar 
the captain of which confirmed his conjecture, by assuring him that 
vast numbers of dead locusts had been driven ashore on the rock of 
Gibraltar, and along the coast of Spain, from Algeciras to Tariffa, a 
distance of nearly twenty miles, and that there were still greater num- 
bers of their carcasses floating in the straits, near the Spanish shore. 
I was also informed, that several years ago, nearly all the locusts in 
the empire, which were at that time very numerous, and had laid 
waste the country, were carried off in one night, and drowned in the 
Atlantic ocean; that their dead carcasses a few days afterwards were 
driven by winds and currents on shore, all along the western coast 
extending from near Cape Spartel to beyond Mogadore, forming, in 
many places, immense piles on the sand beach: that the stench 
arising from their remains was intolerable, and was supposed to have 
produced the plague which broke out about that time in various parts 
of the Moorish dominions. I have thus faithfully embodied what in- 
formation I could obtain regarding the locusts, from living authority, 
which I deem indubitable, and to which I have added such facts and 
circumstances as fell under my own observation, unassisted by books ; 
and I trust the whole will be found essentially correct. As I do not 
profess to be a naturalist, it cannot be expected that I should under- 
take to give a description of his interior formation, &c. — but for a 
side view of this famous and formidable animal, see plate No. 9. To 
return to my Journal : 

Leaving this beautiful valley, embellished and enriched by many 
thousands of fig and other fruit trees, as well as many clumps of grape 
vines that seemed to thrive exceedingly well, we ascended the hill on 
our right, and about dark approached a douhar or encampment thai 
was surrounded by a stone wall: the chief of the douhar was not will- 
ing to let us enter within the walls, but our soldier telling him that 1 
was the Sultan's doctor, and must go in, he reluctantly consented, 
telling my guard, however, we must take care of our baggage our- 
selves, as the whole of the people in the douhar, both men and women, 
were ill of the venereal disease. They offered us milk and eggs, 
and asked my advice in regard to their disorder. I told them, 1 had 
no medicine with me — 1, however, recommended a milk or light diet, 
and a drink to be made by steeping a certain root, having an affinity, 
in appearance, to sarsaparilla, that is common in this part of the 
country ; and to let all drink plentifully of this decoction, for ten 
weeks, not doubting but it would prove beneficial. We slept here 
without molestation, started early on the morning of the 9th, and 
passed, in the course of the day, many douhars of tents in the open 
fields ; many orchards regularly planted, consisting of several hundred 
fig-trees, fenced in with stone walls very thick, and from five to six feet 
in height: the land on both sides of the path was principally cultiva- 
ted. Zagury had despatched our guide on to Azamore before us, to 
a Jew in that town, in order to engage him to prepare some provisions 
against our arrival; for they are so superstitious, that they would not 
even eat bread that had been baked in any other but a Jew's oven, 
and received the priest's blessing, for which, of course, he has his 
tithe. Proceeding forward, at about ten, A. M. we saw at some dis 
lance on oui left, what David and Elio told me was the famous old 



TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 23V 

tow a of Maziagan: stopping here to take refreshment, a large numbei 
of Arab women came from some neighbouring douhars, to stare at 
me and my dress : some of them were quite young, and Zagury began 
to rally them in a very coarse and rude manner, asking them if they 
loved Christians, &c. upon which one very old woman said to him, 
" there is Mazagan ; (pointing towards the distant town;) when that 
place was taken from the Christian*, 1 helped to cut off one of their 
heads, and yet I love Christians better than the mean, cheating, infidel 
Jews." Zagury, not relishing this retort, dropped the conversation. 

Riding on. briskly, we arrived at Azamore poout 3 o'clock, F. M. 
On our approach, our Jews were obliged to dismount, and walk for 
about two miles to pass a saint-house, which the Moors hold in high 
veneration : this was the fiftieth saint-house I had seen since I left 
Swearah. Azamore is a town strongly walled in : it lies on the left 
bank of the river Ormorbear, one league from its mouth : it is built in 
the form of an irregular quadrangle, and is about one mile hi circum- 
ference : the river washes its eastern wall, while the other sides are 
defended by a deep ditch. We did not enter it, but from it appearance, 
it is an old-fashioned Portuguese town, badly built, and within and 
about the walls, very dirty. This* stream was the only one I had yet 
passed on this continent, that deserved the name of river : it has a 
dangerous bar at its mouth, which is said to be navigable only for ves- 
sels drawing six feet water at high tides and in smooth weather ; these 
may come alongside the walls of Azamore, where there is a very neat 
water-port for the reception of their cargoes, but it has now no exter- 
nal commerce whatever : there are, however, some large manufactories 
of Morocco leather, and coarse earthen ware, in the suburbs outside 
the walls. We passed this river, which is here about two hundred 
yards wide, in a good boat, built after the Spanish manner, large and 
well manage' 1 , by expert hands. We found here a good shad fishery : 
there were ten large nets, and about one hundred and fifty stout Moors 
employed in this business at that time, and in the proper season, which 
is from the first of January to April : they catch large quantities of 
shad, which are much esteemed in this country, and are sold at the 
landing for about six cents apiece : they are carried from hence to 
Fez, Mequinez, Morocco, Mogadore, and all the adjoining country. 
We remained on the bank of this river until dark, waiting for our pro- 
visions, which came at last, and we pitched our tent under three date 
trees, about one mile from the bank. We had boaght some shad, 
which, when roasted, afforded us an excellent supper, as they were 
very fat and delicious. 

On the 10th, at two o'clock in the morning, we started from this 
place, and owing to the darkness, lost our path, and wandered about 
for two hours before it was found : we rode all the day through a fine 
evou country, passing many douhars, and- travelling as usual : and at 
nia;ht pitched our tent in ..ie midst of one of the douhars, which 1 shall 
here describe, (having made mention of them frequently before,) and 
this description will answer for the whole of them, with little variation. 
On oiir approach to within fifty yards, we halted, and were soon met 
by the chief, for they all have one head man, whom they honour 
by the title of Sheick : he welcomed us in very handsome terms ; 
invited us to advance ; pointed out a place which was the safest 



249 CAPTAIN riley's narrative. 

within the douhar for our tent ; and furnished us with milk and eggs 
gratis, while the Moors that accompanied us were plentifully regaled 
with bread, water, and coos-coo-soo. This douhar was composed of 
one hundred and fifty-four tents, pitched in the form of a hollow 
square ; the tents being placed about fifty yards apart; an equal mim 
ber occupying each side, and at equal distances — all made of vesy 
coarse strong woollen cloth, of the same colour, and set up in the 
same manner as those on the desart, and all facing inward. Belore 
each tent, and at a very short distance from it, all the camels, cattle, 
goats, and asses, are made to lie down, where they are taught to re- 
main until they are roused up to be milked in the morning, when the 
shepherds or herdsmen drive them out into the open country to feed, 
and return with them again at night-fall. They milk the mares, ca- 
mels, cows, asses, goats, and sheep ; and in order to effect this with 
the two last mentioned animals, which are very tame, they divide the 
sheep and goats into two rows, facing each other ; as soon as they 
approach so as to interlock their necks, they are caught by two ropes 
which are ready strung for the purpose, and by this means they are 
kept close together, while the women and girls go behind and milk 
them between their hind legs ; the lambs having been previously tied 
or secured in a similar way. A good ewe will yield a pint of milk in 
a morning, and a goat more : sheep's milk is reckoned the richest by 
the natives, but 1 preferred that of the goat or the camel to any of the 
others, though asses' and mares' milk is very rich and good. They 
make butter by putting the new milk into a goat-skin, the hair on the 
inside ; the butter is of course a little hairy, but they can pick it clean 
with their fingers, and they generally have white-haired goat-skins for 
churns. The Arabs who inhabit exclusively these douhars, are ex- 
tremely hospitable, and not only furnish the traveller with the best 
they have to eat and drink, but also set a watch over his tent and bag- 
gage, which they strictly take care of : the Sheicks themselves at s 
responsible for every article that may be missing in the morning, and 
which if not immediately found, they pay the stranger his own price 
for it in money without hesitation. Thus the Moorish and Arab tra- 
vellers can pass from one end of the empire to the other without ex- 
pense, and at their leisure, and transact their commercial business in a 
cheap way, only buying the barley for their beasts which carry their 
burdens when they travel on mules or horses, being obliged to feed 
them on barley and straw ; but when they use camels, which is by far 
the most common method, these hardy beasts live on the herbage and 
shrubbery which they nip passing along the road, taking a bite now 
and then as they continue walking, and as soon as they stop, their two 
fare legs are tied within a foot of each other, and they are turned out 
to feed. Without this precaution, the camel is such a wandering crea- 
ture, not unlike his Arab master in that respect, that be the herbage 
ever so good and plentiful where he is turned out, he is continually 
restless, and keeps moving on, so that in the course of an hour or 
two he will stray many miles from the place where he was first turned 
loose. 

On the 11th, at daybreak, we left this douhar, and proceeded ovei 
a smooth beautiful plain, every where covered with fields of grain oi 
grass and flowering shrubs, with numerous herds of cattle, camels, 



TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 241 

asses, and flocks of sheep and goats ; while the road, or rather foot 
path, (for such they all are in this country,) wa^ covered with loaded 
camels travelling each way to and from Darlbeda, and at about 8 o'clock, 
A. M. we reached that city. Darlbeda is a walled town of about two 
miles in circumference, situated at the bottom of a broad bay ; its port 
is tolerably good for landing cargoes, although the bay where vessels 
lie is very rocky, and can only be approached with safety in the sum- 
mer months and in mild weather. Large quantities of wheat were for- 
merly shipped at this port for Spain and Portugal. I peeped into it 
for a few minutes ; it is much on the decay ; the houses, which are 
built chiefly of stone and clay, as well as the walls, are falling down 
in every direction, and even the gateway is in a tottering condition : 
it is a very dirty place : the houses are from one to three stories high, 
and the streets very narrow : there still remains an open aqueduct, that 
used to convey water for a distance of several miles into this town ; it 
is in good repair, being built of stone and lime; the water runs in it to 
within two hundred yards of the wall, where it has been cut off for the 
convenience of roads : thus the destructive hands of the Moors are 
employed in marring and spoiling even their own town, which must 
soon become no better than a heap of ruins. 

We passed Darlbeda, and came to Afidallah, a town built by Sidi 
Mohammed : this town is enclosed by a tolerable mud and stone wall, 
and is situated about one mile from the sea. The whole coast from 
Darlbeda to far beyond Afidallah, is lined with huge heaps of beach 
-sand, hove up by the almost constant trade winds, blowing direct on 
shore. 

Afidallah stands on a beautiful plain: it was built for the purpose 
uf receiving and storing the large quantities of wheat and barley that 
usually grew near its site; and its harbour, only one mile distant from 
it, is sheltered by a long and narrow island, within which vessels of a 
small size can anchor, and be tolerably safe. This is said, by Mo- 
hammed, one of our muleteers, and an old sailor, to be by far the safest 
open harbour in the empire during the winter months ; but the land- 
ing is bad, and can only be effected in light winds and good weather. 
Large quantities of wheat, barley, big acorns, fruit, &c. were shipped 
from Afidallah during the reign of Sidi Mohammed, and a part of the 
present reign ; but Muley Soliman, the present Sultan, nas of late 
become so bigoted, that he thinks, or pretends it is a sin for his sub- 
jects to trade with the Christians ; he has, therefore, forbid the expor- 
tation of almost all the articles of commerce, and rendered, by this 
means, his people poor; ruined most of his towns, and involved him- 
self in many broils with his subjects, while he is straining every nerve 
to take away the little remains of their property, in contributions and 
presents extorted from them by rapacious officers appointed for the 
purpose. The goods for shipping were carried from Afidallah on ca- 
mels, across the sand hills that shelter the town from the violent sea- 
gales. This place is about six hundred yards square, flanked by four 
square forts joined to each corner, and so constructed as to be able 
to rake the whole length of the wall on the outside, with cannon and 
musketry. 

We passed on, and pitched our tent at night within the walls of ar> 
old town called Stbilah ; there is no hou.se standing in it, exceDt a par' 



242 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

of a large mosque, and a tall well-built tower> though it was once a con 
siderable place. Within these walls, in one corner, was a large gar- 
den, well stocked wifh vegetables, and about a hundred tents were 
pitched, as if in the open field ; so we pitched our tent near the walls 
of the mosque. There were several women here that wanted medi- 
cines, and though 1 had none to give them, yet my mere advice, which 
was thought important, procured milk and eggs sufficient for our sup- 
pers. Soon after sunset, all the flocks and cattle belonging to the 
inhabitants were driven within the walls, and disposed of as in the 
common douhars, when the stout gate was shut and strongly barred. 
Many travellers arrived in the evening, and wished to enter, but 
found no admittance, and they took up their lodgings outside of the 
walls. 

January the 12th, at daylight, our soldier had the gate opened, and 
we went forward : there were outside of the gate several large droves 
of camels with their owners, which had put up there in the night — they 
were principally loaded with sacks of salt or barley, and going towards 
Rhabat. We rode on fast, and passed three considerable streams, 
which the Moors call rivers, and say they are not fordable in the rainy 
season ; but we got over without difficulty, being then only brooks": 
the country was level and well cultivated, and we passed innumerable 
droves of light and loaded camels, mules, and asses. 

At about eight o'clock, A. M. we saw a high tower east of us, which 
stands at the head of the aqueduct that conveys waterto Rhabat : and 
at about three, P. M. we came to the outer wall of that city, which 
stands half a mile from the main wall, and encloses a great number of 
fine gardens of fruit and vegetables, besides some wheat fields : it ex- 
tends from the palace (which is spacious, and situated on the J eft upon 
the bank of the sea between the outer and main walls) round to the 
river eastward of the city: here the Jews were obliged to dismount be- 
fore they could enter the town, and there I left them, and proceeded 
with my guard, followed by my muleteer into the city. My friend 
Mr. Wiltshire, had given me an introductory letter to Mr. Abouder- 
ham, the English Vice Consul at Rhabat, and we proceeded directly 
to his house, which is situated in the principal town. On my arrival, 
1 was received by that gentleman with every mark of politeness and 
respect ] could wish : he furnished me with a room and every thing I 
needed for my comfort. The next day being the Jews' Sabbath, I 
had time to visit different parts of the city, and the Jews' town, or 
Millah. 

Rhabat is situated at the mouth of the river Beregreb — on its left 
bank, within a mile of the sea ; it is defended on the south by a dou- 
ble wall and some batteries of cannon ; on the west, facing the sea, 
by a very strong fortress ; and along the river on the north, by very high 
and steep cliffs, a wall, and a number of strong batteries. I should 
compute the circumference of the outer walls at six miles, but the 
inner one not mo:e than three. 

The city is situated on uneven ground : is very well built for a 
Moorish town, though the streets are narrow, crooked, and dirty ; yet 
the houses in general are in good repair, and two stories high, built of 
stone and lime mortar, and flat roofed, with an inner court ; a few win- 
dows next the streets, which are only air holes, and secured with 



TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 243 

wooden shutters and grates, without glass. There are in this city ten 
mosques of different heights and shapes : it is the largest seaport 
town in the Moorish dominions, though at present the bar at the 
river's mouth is so heaped up with sand, as only to admit of vessels 
drawing six feet water, and yet the tide rises within it about ten feet, 
and runs very rapidly. The Millah, or Jews' town, is walled in sepa- 
rately, to prevent the Jews from mixing with and defiling the Moors, 
and that they may more easily be kept in subjection with me aid of 
the bastinado. This Millah has been built only about six years ; has 
but one gate, which is guarded and kept by Moors ; and there are 
some very good houses in it. It is said to contain eight thousand 
Jews, who are (for the most part) very poor, miserable, and depraved, 
and live in the most degraded condition : they worship in twelve rooms 
called synagogues, and 1 was told that nearly one half of the male in- 
habitants were rabbies. 

Rhabat is very well peopled : the whole number of its inhabitants 
is computed by Mr. Abouderham to exceed sixty thousand. Many of 
the Moors here are rich, and live in great luxury, keeping large se- 
raglios of women, and having beautiful gardens. Vast quantities of 
haicks, and other woollen and cotton cloths, are here fabricated, and 
great quantities of sole and Morocco leather, and coarse earthen ware, 
such as pots, bowls, jars, &c. are also manufactured in this city. It 
carries on a brisk inland trade, and the Moorish inhabitants seem to be 
more civilized than in any other town 1 passed through. Here is the 
principal navy-yard of the emperor, where his ships are built ; for the 
Moors have none for commerce. Here was one new frigate lying by 
the walls, partly fitted ; she appeared to be about five hundred tons 
burden ; was pierced for 32 guns, and the Moors said she would be 
ready to go round to Laresch, where their ships of war are fitted out, 
in two or three months : to get them over the bar at the mouth of the 
river, they are obliged to go out perfectly light ; to buoy them up as 
much as possible, and lay them sideways on the bar, at high tide, and 
in mild weather, where they are steadied by means of cables and an- 
chors, until the yielding sand is washed away, and they are forced over 
by the power of the ebb tide, which runs like a mill-race. 

Rhabat is supplied with water by a considerable stream led into the 
city by means of an old fashioned aqueduct from the south, that is 
four or five leagues in length: the aqueduct was either built or tho- 
roughly repaired by the old and liberal emperor Sidi Mohammed. I 
wished to visit the town of Salle, so famous in history for its piracies 
on the ocean, situated on the other side of the river, and directly 
opposite llhabat, but I was dissuaded from making the attempt, by 
Mr. Abouderham and my guide, who said that the whole people ol 
Sallee still retained their ancient pride, prejudices, and natural fero- 
city : that no Christian, or even a Barbary Jew in a Christian dress, 
could enter their walls if he was ever so well guarded by imperial 
soldiers, without being in imminent danger of losing his life. Mr. 
Abouderham Sriid he had visited it twice ; that it contained about 
forty thousand fierce and haughty Moors, and four thousand miser?- 
ole Jews. 



244 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

Description of a horrid show of two venemous serpents — Sets out from 
Rhabat — Of Salle, Marmora, Laresch — Spanish Missionaries — 
Moorish Navy — Arrival at Tangier. 

On Sunday, the 14th January, 1816, being anxious to get forward 
on myjourney, I went into the Jews' town to make the necessary pre- 
parations; for 1 intended to proceed without my Jew's company 
whom 1 had found out to be deceitful and dishonest, having already 
manoeuvred me out of most of my money. The soldier and muleteer 
went along with me: this muleteer, as I before observed, had been a 
sailor; had visited Spain and Portugal, and spoke the Spanish lan- 
guage so that 1 could understand him ; his name was Mohammed, 
coon after our entrance into theMillah, we saw a concourse of people, 
consisting of Moors and Jews, crowding about one of the single storied 
houses, which stood alone. Going near it, I inquired the cause of 
this assemblage, and' w is informed that a couple of that kind of Moors, 
called serpent-ei ._.,, were about to amuse the Moors and Jews with 
a sight of two of t l ..c most venemous serpents on earth; together with 
their manner of atuoking the human species: and that each one who 
chose to see the exhibition through the windows, (for it was to take 
place in that room,) must pay half a dollar. Being desirous of having 
a look, I offered a dollar for a station at a window ; but all the win- 
dows were already occupied, and the places paid for. My guard, 
observing my disappointment, asked me if 1 wished for a birth ? which 
1 answered by putting two dollars into his hand : whereupon he* called 
out to the Jews at one of the windows to clear a place for el Tibib del 
Sultan. (The Sultan's doctor.) Those, however, who had paid their 
money, not liking to Jose their places, were unwilling to move: upon 
which my guardbrushed them away with his big cane without cere- 
mony ; giving me a whole window to myself, saying he would keep 
guard; and 1 looked into the room without interruption : it was about 
twenty feet long, and fifteen feet broad, paved with tiles, and plastered 
within. The windows had also been secured by an additional grating 
made of wire, in such a manner as to render it impossible for the ser- 
pents to escape from the room : it had but one door, and that had a 
nole cut through it, six or eight inches square; this hole was also 
secured by a grating. In the room stood two men who appeared to 
be Arabs, with long bushv hair and beards; and 1 was told they were 
a particular race of men that could charm serpents. A wooden box, 
about four feet long and two feet wide, was placed near the door, with 
a string fastened to a slide at one end of it: this string went through 
a hole in the door. The two serpent-eaters were dressed in haicks 
only, and those very small ones. After they had gone through with 
their religious ceremonies most devoutly, they appeared to take an 
eternal farewell of each other : this done, one of them retired from the 
room, and shut the door tight after him. The Arab within seemed to 
be in dreadful distress : I could observe his heart throb and his bosom 
heave most violently; and he cried out very loudly, ** Allah houaki- 



TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 245 

bar!" three times, which is, as I understood it, "God have mercy 
upon me !" The Arab was at the farthest end of the room: at that 
instant the cage was opened, and a serpent crept out slowly; he was 
about four feet long, and eight inches in circumference ; his colours 
were the most beautiful in nature, being bright, and variegated with 
deep yellow, a purple, a cream colour, black and brown spotted, &c. 
As soon as he saw the Arab in the room, his eyes, which were small 
and green, kindled as with fire : he erected himself in a second, his 
head two feet high, and darting on the defenceless Arab, seized him 
between the folds of his haick, just above his right hip bone, hissing 
most horribly : the Arab gave a horrid shriek, and another serpent 
came out of the cage. This last was black, very shining, and appeared 
to be seven or eight feet long, but not more than two inches in diame- 
ter: as soon as he had cleared the cage, he cast his red fiery eyes on 
his intended victim, thrust out his forked tongue, threw himself into 
a round coil, erected his head, which was in the centre of the coil, 
three feet from the floor, flattening out the skin above his head and 
eyes in the form and nearly of the size of a human heart ; and, spring- 
ing like lightning on the Arab, struck its fangs into his neck, near the 
jugular vein, while his tail and body flew round his neck and arms 
in two or three folds. The Arab set up the most hideous and piteous 
yelling, foamed and frothed at the mouth, grasping the folds of the 
serpent, which were round his arms, with his right hand, and seemed 
to be in the greatest agony — striving to tear the reptile from around 
his neck, while with his left he seized hold of it near its head, but 
could not break its hold : by this time, the other had twined itself 
uround his legs, and kept biting all around the lower parts of his body, 
making apparently deep incisions : the blood, issuing from every 
wound, both in his neck and body, streamed all over his haick and 
6kin. My blood was chilled in my veins with horror at this sight, and 
it was with difficulty my legs would support my frame. .(Notwith- 
standing the Arab's greatest exertions to tear away the serpents with 
his hands, they twined themselves still tighter, stopped his breath, and 
he fell to the floor, where he continued for a moment, as if in the 
most inconceivable agony-, rolling over, and covering every part of 
h ; s body with his own blood and froth, until he ceased to move, and 
appeared to have expired. In his last struggle he had wounded the 
black serpent with his teeth, as it was striving, as it were, to force its 
head into his mouth ; which wound seemed to increase its rage. At 
this instant, I heard the shrill sound of a whistle; and looking towards 
the door, saw the other Arab applying a call to his mouth : the ser- 
pents listened to the music; their fury seemed to forsake them by 
decrees; they disengaged themselves leisurely from the apparently 
lifeless carcass; and creeping towards the cage, they soon entered it, 
and were immediately fastened in. The door of the apartment was 
now opened, and he without ran to assist his companion: he had a 
phial of blackish liquor in one hand, and an iron chisel in the other: 
finding the teeth of his companion set, he thrust in the chisel, pried 
them open, and then poured a little of the liquor into his mouth ; and 
holding the lips together, applied his mouth to the dead man's nose, 
and filled his lungs with air : he next anointed his numerous wounds 
with a little of the same liquid ; and yet no sign of life appeared. 1 



246 captain riley's narrative. 

thought he was dead in earnest ; his neck and veins were exceedingly 
swollen; when his comrade, taking up the lifeless trunk in his arms, 
brought it out into the open air, and continued the operation of blow- 
ing for several minutes, before a sign of life appeared : at length he 
gasped, and after a time recovered so far as to be able to speak. The 
swellings on his neck, body, and legs, gradually subsided, as they" 
continued washing the wounds with clear cold water, and a sponge, 
and applying tne black liquor occasionally : a clean haick was wrap- 
ped about him, but his strength seemed so far exhausted, that he 
could not support himself standing; so his comrade laid him on the 
ground by a wall, where he sunk into a sleep. This exhibition lasted 
for about a quarter of an hour from the time the serpents were let loose, 
until they were called off, and it was more than an hour from that 
time before he could speak. I thought that I could discover that the 
poisonous fangs had been pulled out of these formidable serpents' 
jaws, and mentioned that circumstance to the showman, who said 
that they had indeed been extracted ; and when 1 wished to know how 
swellings on his neck and other parts could be assumed, he assured me, 
that though their deadly fangs were out, yet that the poisonous quality 
of their breath and spittle would cause the death of those they attack : 
that after a bite from either of these serpents, with all their fangs, no 
man could exist longer than fifteen minutes, and that there was no 
remedy for any but those who were endowed by the Almighty with 
power to charm and to manage them, and that he and his associate 
were of that favoured number. The Moors and Arabs call the thick 
and beautiful serpent El Effah, and the long black and heart-headed 
one El Buschkah. I afterwards saw engravings of these two serpents 
in Jackson's Morocco, which are very correct resemblances : they are 
said to be very numerous on and about the south foot of the Atlas 
mountains, and border of the desart, where these were caught when 
young, and where they often attack and destroy both men and beasts. 
The Effah's bite is said to be incurable, and its poison so subtile as 
to cause a man's death in fifteen minutes. When I saw the Effah, it 
brought to my mind the story of the fiery serpents that bit the chil- 
dren of Israel in the desarts of Arabia, near Mount Hor, as recorded 
in the 21st chapter of the Book of Numbers ; merely because the 
Effah resembled in appearance a brazen serpent : the two serpent- 
eaters said they came from Egypt about three years ago. 

This exhibition of serpents, (the first, I was told, of the kind tnat 
had lately taken place at Rhabat,) and our preparations, detained us 
the whole day ; however, 1 had made all the necessary arrangements, 
got the tent, provisions, &c. in order to be ready for a start the next 
morning, and on January the 15th, very early, 1 took my leave of Mr. 
Abouderham, who, though a Jew, was nevertheless a man of feeling, 
and much of a gentleman : he is a native of Leghorn^ had received a 
good education, and spoke the French language fluently. 

We crossed the river, which is here about half a mile wide, and 
proceeded towards the walls of Sallee : the river has entirely left the 
Sallee side, which is now filled up with sand and mud, leaving the 
'own nearly a mile from the water: there were still to be seen some 
remains of its ancient docks, and wrecks of vessels. 1 looked atten* 
f vely at Sallee, in passing its walls, which are high and strong, built 



TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 247 

of stone, and well cemented; they had been repaired lately, and are 
flanked by many circular and square towers, on which about i/wo hun- 
dred pieces of cannon are still mounted, of all calibers ; and it appear- 
ed that it must have formerly been mounted with seven hundred pieces 
more. Near its walls, on the east, north, and west sides, are beautiful 
gardens that appear to be extremely fertile, well laid out, and culti- 
vated : great numbers of orange, lemon, and sweet lemon trees, were 
bending under their loads of rich yellow fruit: hundreds of fig, pome- 
granate, almond, and other fruit trees, were now leafless, but budding 
forth, and thus promising abundance in their season. Many of the 
gardens are of great extent, and planted with the cotton tree, which 
is small, and produces cotton inferior to the American, called Geor- 
gia Upland, and only in small quantities. 

As we proceeded on our road, we came to the aqueduct which sup- 
plies Sallee with fresh water: this aqueduct serves as an outer wall to 
the city on the north : it is nearly a mile from it, and about thirty feet 
high where we passed through it: here are three large arches resem- 
bling gateways, and marks are still to be seen, where gates were once 
hung : the wall is eight or ten feet in thickness, and the aqueduct 
appears to be about four miles in length. The canal for conducting 
jhe water is near the top, but uncovered ; this aqueduct is said to 
have been built by the Romans ; it is formed of large hewn stones 
and is extremely solid. 

We travelled on through a fine champaign country, every where 
cultivated, until two, P. M. when we saw on our left, and passed a 
lake of fresh water, about two miles in length, and half a mile in 
breadth : this was the first lake, or indeed pond, 1 had ever seen in 
this country ; and soon afterwards we arrived on the bank of the river 
Mediah. On the left bank of this river, near its mouth, stands, though 
mostly in ruins, the ancient Portuguese town and fortress of Mamora 
the fortress is situated on a high hill that overlooks the surrounding 
country, commands the ruins of the town, and is now garrisoned by 
about three hundred black troops. The town was built close along 
the brink of the river, and its northern wall was washed by every tide ; 
and though very old, has not yet sustained much injury. The river 
enters the sea over a bar in a N. W. direction : the lower wall has an 
excellent circular battery, built of large hewn stone, and was calculated 
for mounting thirty heavy guns for the defence of the harbour ; though 
now dismantled. This town wall is about half a mile in length along 
the river, and the ruins two hundred yards in breadth ; the place was 
once very strongly walled in on the land side, but this wall is now in 
ruins : not a soul inhabits this town at present. Here some of my 
former opinions were confirmed ; for it is certain that the sea has re- 
ceded from this coast : the evident marks of the water high on this 
wall, and on the point of land near which the town stands, that must 
from appearance have been worn in by the dashing of the sea, together 
with the situation of the present bar, prove to an observer, without any 
possibility of doubt, that the ocean has receded since this place was 
built, for more than a mile distance, and that its perpendicular height 
has decreased at least fifteen feet since that period. I do no' 
pretend to aecount*for this fact, but leave it to be exphiued by phi 
losophers. 



248 CAPTAIN riley's narrative. 

We were to cross this river in a good boat that took o\er fifteen 
camels with their loads at a trip ; but there were on the bank, waiting 
for their turns to cross, at least five hundred loaded camels, besides 
mules and asses, chiefly with burdens of wheat and barley, going on 
to Tangier and Tetuan, where all kinds of bread-stuffs were said to be 
vety scarce and dear. I told my soldier that it was necessary to in- 
form the boatman that 1 was the emperor's surgeon, and himself an 
alcayd ; that we could not wait, but must pass over immediately, for 
the wind blew fresh from the S. W. and they had but one boat, which 
could not make above six trips in a day ; and it would not be our turn, 
from the then appearances, in less than a week : this, with an offer ol 
two dollars to the boatman, had the desired effect, and we were ferried 
over with the second boat-load, though not without much opposition 
and dispute between my guard and those who were waiting before us, 
and which was only settled by the interference of the black garrison ; 
for my guide had the address to persuade them that he was indeed an 
alcoyd, and I the Sultan's doctor. After crossing the river, we mount- 
ed (he sand hills, and at 10, P. M. pitched our tent in the midst of a 
d juhar, where we got some milk and eggs for our money. 

Tuesday, the 16th, we started very early : it had rained hard with 
heavy squalls of wind most part of the preceding night, but my tent 
being sound, kept off the storm : it was now clear and serene ; nearly 
the whole face of the ground was covered with violet and pink colour- 
ed flowers, not more than an inch or two in height, which seemed to 
have sprung up during the night, and as the sun exhaled the dews 
from around them, the fresh air of the morning was filled with the 
most delightful fragrance. The country on our right was a low mo- 
rass, partly covered with water, which soon grew into a lake of con- 
siderable breadth. We travelled, during the whole day, along its left 
margin : its surface was spotted over with innumerable wild ducks 
and other aquatic birds, which some of the inhabitants were shooting 
at. In lieu of boats they use a kind of catamaran, which is made by 
lashing three small palm tree logs together by means of cords made 
of the bark of this useful tree ; they have a crotched stick set up near 
one end of their float for a rest to their guns, and instead of oars, use 
long poles to force it along : when the gunner gets on his raft, he 
leaves his haick behind him for fear of wetting it, and shoves out en- 
tirely naked : their guns are very long and clumsy, with Moorish locks ; 
so that mode of fowling supplies them with but little game, though the 
lake is nearly covered with it. The sight of this catamaran brought 
to my mind those made use of in the Atlantic ocean along the coast 
of Brazil, and in some other parts of the world : the fishermen on 
those coasts form a raft by laying three rough logs alongside of one 
another, thirty feet in length, and pinning them together with wooden 
tree nails ; they then place two more logs partly on the upper side of 
the exterior logs, and pin them on fast ; sharpen the two ends of all 
the logs, and the float is finished. To make it manageable, they raise 
a four-legged bench in it, near the centre, which serves to steady a 
mast, on which they hoist a shoulder-of-mutton sail, and go out to sea. 
! have seen them twenty leagues from land. These boats are perfectly 
safe, for they can neither leak, upset, nor founder, and sail remarkably 
fast, and are steered with a stout oar. 



TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 249 

Theie are several islands in this lake, on one of which there is a 
very spacious sanctuary, many fruit trees, and several apparently good 
gardens. Since leaving Darlbeda, we had seen no high land, only 
moderate acclivities, no more than to make it agreeable to the cultiva- 
tor. This afternoon we discovered the ridge of mountains which lie 
behind Fez and Miquinez, stretching from the Atlas to the straits of 
Gibraltar, and forming one of the far-famed pillars of Hercules. At 
first they were scarcely visible in the distant horizon, and appeared 
like the'tops of high islands, when approaching them on the ocean: 
not a tree or bush of any magnitude had we seen for several days, ex- 
cept the fig, palm, or other fruit trees, which were generally planted 
in clusters, or in gardens near the towns : at night we pitched our tent 
at a douhar near the border of the lake. 

Wednesday, January the 17th, we started early, and went down the 
bank near the sea, to pass round the former outlet of this lake, which 
was now dammed with sea-sand very high ; and on the sides of the 
bank which formed the outlet, stood four saint-houses, nearly covered 
up with sand-drifts. Continuing our journey until about noon, we 
began to come among tree3 of considerable size ; they looked like a 
species of oak with a thick shaggy bark, but are an evergreen : this 
wood is very brittle, and the trees produce a kind of acorn of a very 
large size, which the Spaniards and Portuguese used to carry away in 
large quantities from this country : they were as highly esteemed as 
the chesnut, and used for food by the people of those nations : they 
also fed their swine on them. 

Passing through a large forest, we came to a small lake on our right, 
and, at sunset, approached the walls of Laresch. Having heard that 
some Spanish friars resided here, I inquired for them, and was soon 
conducted to their dwelling, a very good house of European construc- 
tion. The principal friar came out to meet me ; and after 1 had given 
a short account of myself in Spanish, said he would lodge me for 
charity's sake ; and then conducted me into a tolerably well furnished 
room: and, as he had lived in Mogadore, he asked me many questions 
concerning that city, and his old acquaintances there, some of whom 
I happened to know. He treated me with some wine, which he said 
was of his own manufacture ; it was none of the best, however : and, 
at 10 o'clock at night, an excellent supper of fowls and sallads, dress- 
ed in the Spanish style, was served up. This Padre, whose name is 
Juan Ti.naones, told me that he had lived in Barbary for ten years, four 
of which he had spent at Mogadore, three at Rhabat, and three here, 
secluded from the civilized world ; that the court of Spain allowed a 
lara;e premium to those Padres, or Fathers, of good character, to be 
approved of by the Archbishop, who are willing to spend ten years in 
Barbary as missionaries, and a stipend of three thousand dollars a 
year for the remainder of their lives. I asked him of what use he 
could be in Barbary to the cause of Christianity, since he dare not 
even attempt to convert a Moor or an Arab, or mention the name of 
the Saviour as one of the Godhead to either, or even to a Jew ? 
" None at all," said he, " but still we bear the name of missionaries at 
home, to convert the heathen : our allowance of money is ample: we 
live well, as you see, (he was indeed fat and in fine order,) laugh at the 
folly of our countrymen, and enjoy the present as well as we can." 



250 

(The circumstance of there being two young and pretty Jewesses in 
the house, and plenty of good cheer, did not tend, in any great de- 
gree, to discredit his representation.) " When this ten years expire," 
continued this pious Padre, " we get leave to return to our country, 
where we are received as patterns of piety, that have rendered vast 
services to the Christian world : every respectable house is open to 
receive us : our company is much sought after : our yearly salary of 
three thousand dollars affords us many gratifications ; and, for these 
ten years spent in such privations and severe gospel labours, we are 
* allowed absolution for the remainder of our lives, which, you will readily 
believe, we try to make as comfortable as possible." Padre (i. e. fa- 
ther) Tinaones wanted to know if I was a Catholic ? To this 1 answer- 
ed in the negative. He said it was a pity ; and that, unless 1 came 
within the pale of the Church, he feared my precious soul would be 
for ever miserable. Our conversation next turned upon the Jews : he 
said, " there were about two hundred miserable families of them in 
Laresch, who, though they are, in a manner, slaves to the Mohamme- 
dans, will not believe in our holy religion : there were two Jews who 
applied to me, and said they were converted to the true Catholic faith, 
and believed Jesus Christ to be the Son of God, and the Saviour of 
mankind : they were accordingly baptized as Christians ; yet, as soon 
as they had obtained a loan of four hundred dollars from me, in small 
sums, and found they could get no more, they turned back to Judaism 
again, and left me no means of redress ; which fully convinced me 
that their pretended conversion to Christianity was nothing more than 
a premeditated scheme to rob me of my money ; and that,"whenever a 
Jew professes to become a Christian, it is but a false pretence, and he 
is actuated entirely by mercenary motives. The Jews," added he, 
" hold Christ and his followers in the greatest possible contempt, and 
p'retend to believe that all men, who are not Israelites, will be doomed, 
at the day of judgment, to eternal punishment." This night was 
principally spent in conversation with the Padre, on various subjects. 

Thursday, January 18th, I made ready to go on early, but the tide 
ran so rapidly at that time, that it was impossible to pass the river 
without the risk of being driven into the sea ; so I had time to make 
observations. 

Laresch is handsomely situated on the left bank of the river Saboo, 
near its entrance into the sea : the town lies along the river's bank, 
and is half a mile in length, but very narrow : it is strongly walled in 
all around, and has two gates, one on the east, and the other on the 
south side: the fortress is on a hill south of the town, from which it is 
only separated by a wall ; it is strongly built, and flanked by eight 
towers ; has about one hundred pieces of cannon mounted "on its 
battlements, and stands too high to be battered down by the shipping, 
even if they could get into the river. This town is said to have been 
built by the Portuguese originally, and only occupies the same space 
it did formerly, that is to say, about one mile in circumference : it 
contains about eighteen thousand inhabitants, i. e. sixteen thousand 
Moors, and two thousand Jews, who are all very poor, as no trade is 
carried on here by sea or by land : they are obliged to work hard in 
the adjacent gardens, and till the impoverished fields, in order to gain 
a scaaty subsistence. This is the only safe port the Emperor of Mo 



TRAVELS IN MOROCCO, 251 

rocco has for fitting out his large cruisers, from whence they can get 
to sea with their armament : the river here is very narrow, runs close 
along the walls of Lareseh, and is very deep opposite the town : there 
Is said to be on the bar at its mouth eighteen feet of water at high 
spring t des. The river within the town is both broad and deep ; the 
tides run very rapidly both atflood and ebb, so much so, that we were 
obliged to wait until it was nearly spent before it was deemed sale to 
cross : directly in the ferrying place, an old brig lay sunk, which had 
been captured under the Russian flag, and the crew kept as slaves or 
prisoners for about a year. The Emperor's navy was now lying along- 
side of .he opposite bank, consisting of one frigate-built ship, copper- 
ed to tne bends, of about 700 tons burden, and mounting 32 guns, ap- 
parently 13 pounders, on the main deck ; and a brig, called the Swe- 
arah, also coppered — a beautiful vessel, mounting 18 guns, said to 
sail, and from her appearance, would sail very fast : she was built in 
England, and there fitted in the best possible manner, and presented 
to the emperor by a Jew of Mogadore, named Macnin, a most noto- 
rious character, but called a very rich merchant: this Jew has a V- , a ier 
in London, who, it is said, has heretofore managed to get goods on 
credit to very large amounts, and he then sends t-hem to Mogadore, 
where his brother loads back the ships with less, generally, than half 
:he value of the outward cargo, and thus continues to gull the English 
merchants in the true Barbary style : the principal in London fails — 
his creditors compound with him : he begins anew ; obtains, from 
some quarter or another, all the credit he wishes; sends out the goods 
to Barbary; gets no returns ; fails again, and again compromises, and 
commences the old business. The emperor, some time ago, attempt- 
ed to give this worthy Jew merchant a gentle squeeze, and seized his 
goods, houses, cash, and every thing valuable that his officers could 
lay their hands on ; upon which Macnin, to conciliate his majesty, 
and to get a part of his ill-gotten property back again, made him a 
present of this fine brig, which could not have cost him much, for 
" los Inglesislo pagan," (the English pay for it,) is his motto. These 
two vessels and the new frigate at Rhabat, now constitute the whole 
of the emperor's naval force : his maxim is to be at war with every 
nation who has not made a treaty with him, or which has not a Consul 
General residing at Tangier, to make him the customary presents on 
his annual holidays, or pay him tribute agreeably to the terms of his 
treaties. According to this system, he sends out his cruisers from 
time to time, who, if they find a vessel bearing a flag, whose nation has 
not made a treaty of peace with him, they capture her, bring her in as 
a good prize, and retain the crew as slaves or prisoners. About eigh- 
teen montiis ago, this brig Mogadore, then on a cruise, captured the 
Russian brig before mentioned, and catried her into Lareseh: now the 
emperor of Russia had not stipulated for a peace with his Moorish 
majesty, and had no Consul residing at Tangier; so the vessel's cargo 
was soon disposed of as a prize, and her officers and crew, ten in 
number, were thrown into prison, and frequently compelled to work 
on board the vessels of war. After about a year's captivity in this 
manner, finding no Christian power claimed the men, and having no 
use for them, the emperor ordered them to be removed to the prison at 
Tangier. Padre Tinaones told me these facts, and said he had done 
M 



252 

all he could for the Christians while they were in Laresch prist in, aiw' 
that their brig had sunk, in the ferrying-place for want ^f care. 

Proceeding on our journey, we soon mounted the high hills on the 
right bank of this river, where we found many huts constructed of 
stones and mud, with steep roofs thatched with straw, after the manner 
of the Scotch and Irish hovels : these were the first uuildings of the 
kind I had seen in Africa, and contrary to the Moorish custom, they 
were quite defenceless. Continuing our journey through a long wood, 
and over a hilly, sandy soil, all this day as fast as possible, we pitched 
our tent at night in a deep valley, near a small douhar, where we ob- 
tained some milk for our suppers. It commenced raining in the eve- 
ning, and continued to pour without intermission, attended with strong 
gales and squalls, until daylight, but as our tent was t:ght and strong, 
I experienced from it no material inconvenience. 

Friday the 19th, soon after daylight, it ceased to rain, and we pro- 
ceeded on our journey. After passing many douhars and some huts 
of the construction mentioned near Laresch, we entered a deep valley, 
tut, >padth of which was about six miles : the rain had soaked the soil 
so much, as to render it almost impassable, so that the mules sunk into 
the mud nearly up to their bellies, and we were obliged to dismount 
and wade throivgh it on foot. This valley contains two small rivers, 
which are not fordable at high tides : the little town of Aula stands at 
their mouth, and lay about ten miles to our left : the quantity 
of rain that had fallen the preceding night, had rendered them quite 
deep even at low water, so that in attempting to ford one of them on my 
mule, he was carried away by the current, and 1 was forced to swim; 
however, I held the mule by the bridle, and landed safely. My soldier 
and muleteer seeing I had got safe across, at length ventured in dif- 
ferent places, and also succeeded in getting over. Our way now became 
very mountainous and woody, and the deep valleys, tnrough which a 
number of brooks ran winding along in very serpentine courses, ren- 
dered our path muddy and slippery. 

At 3, P. M. we gained the summit of a mountain, when I saw dis- 
tinctly the bay of Tangier, part of the straits of Gibraltar, and to my 
great joy, the coast of Spain; it was the hospitable shore of civilized 
Europe! The crowd of sensations that rushed upon my mind at this 
grateful sight, can be more easily conceived than described. It 
brought to my recollection the trials and distresses I had undergone 
since leaving it, as well as my great deliverances : all ihese sensations 
together so overcame my faculties, and agitated me in such a manner, 
that 1 had not powe-r to keep myself steady, and I actually fell from 
my mule no less than three times in travelling from thence to Tangier, 
a distance of five or six miles. As 1 had not before fallen from my 
mule duringssjy whole journey from Mogadore, the soldier who guard- 
ed me thought it very extraordinary, nor could I persuade him that 1 
was not too ill to ride : he, therefore, after helping me on again the 
third time, gave his horse to the muleteer, and walked by my side, 
holding me on for some time: my head, however, became so dizzy 
from the state of my feelings, that I was obliged to alight and walk 
with his assistance for about a mile, until we came near the walls oi 
Tangier, when he again, at my request, placed me on my mule. 

It was in the ausk of the evening when we arrived at the gate, and 



TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 253 

the soldier having announced me to the guards, I was conducted 
directly into the city, and before the governor, who ordered me to be 
escorted to the American Consul's house, where I soon arrived, and 
was received most hospitably by James Simpson, Esquire, the American 
Consul General, who immediately introduced me to his amiable lady" 
and family, and requested me to consider his house my home. 1 ac- 
cordingly took up my day-quarters with him, and remained under his 
truly hospitable roof during my stay at Tangier. I laving made a pre- 
sent to my guard and muleteer for their attention and fidelity to me 
on the journey, and made up a packet for my friend Willshire, I 
despatched them with his mule, &c. on the 22d of January, 1816, 
back for Mogadore. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

Moorish captives — of Tangier, and Christian Consuls — passage to 
Gibraltar — reception there — embarks for America — observations on 
Gibraltar — passage in the ship Rapid — arrival at New-York — visits 
his family — goes to Washington City, (the seat of government,) 
and concludes with brief remarks on slavery. 

During my stay at Tangier, I was made acquainted with Mr. Green, 
the English Consul General, a gentleman of talents, high respectabi 
lity, and worth ; and with Mr. Agrill, the Swedish Consul General, 
who had lately arrived there from Sweden. On his arrival, he found 
the crew of the before mentioned Russian brig, in Tangier prison, 
and finding there was no one to claim or redeem them, and that they 
were natives of what once was Swedish Pomerania, he purchased 
them from the Sultan for about two thousand dollars, which he paid 
out of his own private funds, and set them at liberty. I saw and con- 
versed with the master and most of the crew of that vessel, who told 
me they had been imprisoned at Laresch about a year ; had been 
robbed of most of their clothing, and then brought to Tangier, where 
Mr. Agrill had the charity and numanity to redeem them, though they 
were captured under the Russian flag, and did not owe allegiance to 
the Swedish government. Mr. Agrill kept them in his own house, 
waiting for a Swedish vessel of war, which was daily expected, and 
by which he meant to send them to their country. The captain men- 
tioned to me that his vessel was in fact English property covered by 
the Russian flag, in order to avoid capture by the American cruisers. 
I had before known Mr. Agrill in St. Petersburg, Russia — then in a 
public character: he is a man of much real worth. 

Tangier bay is said to be the best harbour in the Moorish domi- 
nions : its bottom is clear, and it might contain at one time one thou- 
sand ^ail of large vessels, which would ride in safety, being sheltered 
from all but the northerly winds, which have only the rake of the 
breadth of the strait, and the holding ground is excellent: the best 
anchorage is in seven and a half fathoms ,vater ; where the Portuguese 
flag-staff (which is the westernmost, and near the water) is on a line 
the American flag-staff, which latter is high, and can always be 



254 

known by having its flag hoisted when an American vessel approaches 
the bay. The city of Tangier is built on the west side and near the 
mouth of the bay, on the declivity of a hill, two miles east of Cape 
Spartel, rising like an amphitheatre; the houses are built of stone, 
and whitewashed, and the town, when seen from the bay or strait, has a 
very handsome appearance ; but it is badly built ; the houses being gene- 
rally small, and but one story high, with flat terraced roofs : the streets 
are narrow, crooked, badly paved, and commonly very dirty. There 
are, however, some handsome buildings in Tangier; among which*are 
the Spanish, Swedish, Dutch, French, Danish, and Portuguese con- 
sular nouses : the old English consular house has been lately aban- 
doned on account of its bad construction, but they are now building 
a very elegant one, that is said to have already cost the British govern- 
ment ten thousand pounds sterling, and will cost nearly as much more 
by the time it is finished and furnished. The American government 
has no consular house at Tangier; the consul general resides in a 
house that was formerly attached to that of the Swedish consulate : it 
was purchased by Mr. Simpson, on his own private account, for his 
own use, and for an office for the use of the United States, in order to 
save the expense of house rent ; and the dwelling part is so small and 
inconvenient, that when his own children visit him from abroad, he is 
forced to hire lodgings for them in Jews' or other houses. 1 believe 
every government having a consul residing at Tangier, except that of 
my own country, has either built or purchased a mansion for the ac- 
commodation of that officer. Mr. Simpson's eldest son, with his lady, 
were now on a visit to their parents ; and the consul had to hire apart- 
ments in a Jew's house for a few days to accommodate them : he was 
also under the necessity of procuring lodgings for me in a Jew's house 
during a few nights of my stay there. 

Tangier is an irregularly built walled town of about one mile in cir- 
cuit, including the fortress which overlooks and commands it: it is 
well supplied with water by a covered acqueduct, and generally well 
furnished with provisions : the several batteries are lined with many 
pieces of ordnance, among which are two pieces of long brass cannon 
of about fourteen inches caliber ; they are mounted on carriages, and 
stanu in a battery near the landing without the city gate : these two 
enormous brass pieces were made by the Portuguese, and are (judging 
by the eye) about eighteen feet in length. 

Tangier was taken from the Moors in the year 1441, by the Portu- 
guese, who gave it to King Charles the II. of England, in a dowry for 
Catharine of Portugal, his queen. The English kept possession of it 
for about twenty years; but, finding it subject to the continual attacks 
of the ferocious Moors, from whom it was with great difficulty defend- 
ed, they blew up its fine mole or basin, (which had before rendered it 
a safe harbour for small vessels,) to low water mark, together with 
some of the fortifications, and abandoned the place: the mole has not 
since been rebuilt. I walked over it at low water: a great quantity of 
llie large blocks of hewn stone are now to be seen lying on the solid' 
foundations, which still remain almost entire. On the east side oft 
and near the bottom of the bay, are to be seen the ruins of an old town, 
which is said to have been built by the Romans. It must formerly 
have been very extensive, from the present appearance of its ruic* 



TRAVELS IN MOROCCO. 255 

and was watered by a small river that runs into the bay near its site. 
There are several forts and batteries on the eastern shore of the bay, 
and on Cape Malibat, bat they are so badly garrisoned as not to be 
formidable to their enemies, if any should chance to take shelter in 
the bay during bad weather: they have only to keep out of the reach 
ot the shot from Tangier. All the Christian consuls near the Empe- 
ror of Morocco reside at Tangier, where their persons are protected 
by order of the Sultan. Those at Tangier are — for the United States 
of America, James Simpson, Esq. ; Great Britain, Mr. Green ; France, 
Mr. Sourdian; Sweden, Mr. Agrill; Spain, Don Orne, vice-consul ; 
Denmirk, Mr. Scomboe ; Holland, Mr. Nijsoin; and Portugal, Mr. 
Coloso. The consuls at Tangier keep up a sort of etiquette, in cele- 
brating the memorable epochs in the history of their respective coun- 
tries, and their particular national holidays, which custom is peculiar 
to Tangier. They also keep up the long established custom of giv- 
ing consular dinners all in turn round on the arrival of any new consul, 
or when an old one is recalled, &c. These customs are extremely 
expensive, but have now become absolutely necessary in order to 
impress the minds of the Moors with respect for the dignity of the 
respective nations which those consuls represent. The Christian 
Consuls general, near the Emperor of Morocco, are, generally speak- 
ing, men eminent on account of character, talents, and learning, and 
have a large salary; for, like foreign ministers plenipotentiary, they 
are not allowed to derive any emolument whatever from commerce. 
By accepting of fhis appointment, they exclude themselves from the 
society and comforts of the civilized world, and live besides in exile, 
and in continual jeopardy, being always in the power of real barba- 
rians. They are under the necessity of sending to Europe for all 
their clothing, liquors, stores, furniture, &c. except a few articles of 
provisions, and those who have families are obliged to send their 
children to other countries for their education, though at a very heavy 
expense. Mr. Simpson left a lucrative commercial establishment at 
Gibraltar, in 1798, and went to Tangier, merely to serve our govern- 
ment, at a time when war was intended by the Moorish Sultan against 
our commerce. He succeeded in averting the threatened blow, and 
in establishing our present treaty with that sovereign. He is a gentle- 
man of unblemished character and pleasing manners, and has expend- 
ed a handsome fortune in the service of the United States, over and 
above his consular salary. He has passed the best of his days in the 
service of his adopted country, and, in my opinion, deserves a hand- 
some maintenance from government during the remainder of his life, 
free from the cares, vexations, and anxieties that are always attached 
to a consulate in such barbarous countries. Mr. Simpson is a native 
of Scotland, but a firm American in principle, and an enthusiastic 
admirer of our excellent institutions. 

'The whole sea force of the Emperor of Morocco, as 1 before obser- 
ved, consists of'two frigates of 32 guns each, and the brig Mogadore 
of 13 guns : the only port he has which can shelter and secure them 
from the reach of an enemy, is Laresch, which they can neither enter 
nor sail from when equipped, except at high-water spring tides. There 
are no corsairs or small vessels belonging to individuals as formerly, 
nor is there even a merchant vessel belonging to the Moors. In 



^5G CAPTAIN riley's narrative. 

order to show how much value the present Sultan sets on his ships 
of war, I must relate in what manner he sometimes disposes of them. 
About two years since, the Bashaw of Tripoli sent as a present to the 
Emperor of Morocco, a beautiful Circassian girl : she was a virgin 
and possessed charms with which the old Sultan was so enraptured, 
that lie asked the ambassador who escorted her from Tripoli, what he 
could send to his friend, the Bashaw, in return for this jewel? 1 have 
nothing but wheat, said he, of which the Bashaw, your master, can 
always have as much as he pleases. The Bashaw, my master, said 
the ambassador, is always in want of wheat : but, replied the Emperor, 
1 would send him something more valuable ; he has made me a most 
superb present, and I wish to return the compliment in a handsome 
manner. Your majesty has frigates, said the ambassador : — so I have, 
indeed, answered the Sultan, and that gives me much pleasure; go to 
Laresch, and make choice of one from among my navy : I will have 
her fitted out in the best manner, and sent round to your master 
directly : the ambassador did not wait a second bidding, but went in 
haste to Laresch, for fear the sovereign might change his mind ; chose 
a fine new frigate of 32 guns that had but a short time previous been 
coppered to the bends, which was immediately fitted according to 
promise, and sent to Tripoli, with the ambassador on board, and 
where she arrived in safety, being escorted by an English vessel of 
war. Both Mr. Simpson and Mr. Green assured me, that this state- 
ment was in substance correct. The Emperor's squndron might be 
blockaded, at all times, by a very small force ; his large ships are, 
therefore, not at all to be dreaded by any maritime power who has 
timely notice of his hostile intentions, as they are badly equipped 
and manned, having now no maritime commerce, and consequently 
no nursery for se men. The only port from which he could do any 
mischief of importance to Christian commerce, is Tangier. Should 
this or any future Sultan, think proper to declare war against any 
maritime state, he has only to send money over to Cadiz, Algeciras, 
or Gibraltar, and purchase fast sailing latteen rigged boats; fit and 
man them in Tangier immediately, and send them to cruize in the 
mouth of the straits : thus they might seize on the unsuspecting and 
unarmed merchant ships, as they pass along — conduct them into Tan- 
gier bay, or to any place along the coast, where they would soon 
unload and run the vessels on shore, keeping their crews as slaves. 
In this lrght alone can the Emperor of Morocco be reckoned formi- 
dable to commercial states, and this game could only be played for 
a short time, until the nation thus attacked could send a force suffi- 
cient to destroy the marauders. It would be good policy, however, 
to keep at peace with the Moorish sovereign, as his rovers, lying at 
the door of the Mediterranean, might do much mischief; and to be a 
slave to the Moors, is, indeed, dreadful to a Christian. 

Tangier has but little commerce with Europe, and this is chiefly 
carried on by the Jews ; but the English government get their supplies 
of cattle and other fresh provisions for the garrison of Gibraltar, from 
that place and Tetuan : this and the other trifling trade is carried on 
in Gibraltar boats and Spanish small craft. There is a considerable 
coral fishery along the Moorish coast, about Cape Spartel ; and while 
1 remained at Tangier, two Spanish boats came into the port with 



TRAVELS. 257 

what coral they had been able to procure for the las six months : it 
wa3 of a beautiful colour, and of an excellent quality ; I was informed 
by one of the boatmen, that in order to get the coral, they anchor in 
deep water, amongst the rocks, and let down their nets, which soon 
oecome entangled amongst the coral, and they then draw it on board: 
this man said that they came over from Tariffa, and obtained leave 
from the Alcayd of Tangier to fish on the coast, by agreeing to give 
him one-third of the coral they should obtain; that he put two Moors 
on board their boats (one each) to assist them in procuring provisions, 
water, &.c. and serve as safeguards : he said, the whole of the coral 
they then had was to be divided the next day, when they should sell 
their share at public sale to the highest bidder; and 1 afterwards 
understood from Mr. Simpson, that the French Consul purchased it 
for twelve hundred dollars, and there were twelve fishermen to share 
the money. 

On the 29th of January, 1816, a small schooner being ready to sail 
for Gibraltar, I took my leave of Mr. Simpson and family, and pro- 
ceeded on to the mole, in order to embark. This vessel had been 
hired by a certain Jew, named Torrel, to carry his family across to 
Gibraltar, which, with two or three other families of European Jews, 
who would not conform to the dress in which all Jews in Moorish 
Barbary had been ordered to appear, nor pay the tribute lately levied 
on them by the Sultan, were ordered to depart forthwith from his 
dominions. These families came out of the gates of the City, in ordei 
to embark together, and proceeded with their baggage to the ruins o. 
the old mole, to go otf in the boat, it being low water : they were 
accompanied by a considerable number of Jews and Jewesses: a few 
of the latter, very decently dressed, wished to escort them to the boat, 
and there to take their leave, &c. ; but the Moorish captains of the 
port, without ceremony, began to brush them back with big staffs 
they carried for the purpose: these sticks were about five feet in 
length, and one inch in diameter, and they applied them so unmer- 
cifully, and with such singular dexterity, peculiar to the Moors, as to 
lay many decent looking Jewish females, as well as males, prostrate 
upon the beach ; when they lenewed their blows, in order to raise them 
on their feet again, and drive them into the city gate, like so many of 
the brute creation. 

At about 8 o'clock, A. M. I got on board this vessel, in company 
with Mr. John Simpson and his lady, who were on their return from a 
visit to their parents ; and after waiting nearly three hours for a letter 
which the Governor wished to send to Gibraltar, we set sail and left 
the hay with a fair hut a light breeze. The scene of inhumanity and 
oppression I had just witnessed, prompted me to thank my God again 
that 1 was ono more free from a country inhabited by the worst of 
barbarians. 

Passing up the strait, which in one place is only eight miles broad, 
we arrived safe in Gibraltar hay in the evening ; but as we did not get 
iip before the town until the gates of the garrison were closed, we 
were obliged to remain (forty in number) on board the vessel during 
the night. On the 80th we were visited very early by a boat from tho 
health office and permitted to land. I went on shore immediately 
and was received by my friend Sprague with demonstrations of ud 



258 

feigned joy, and heartily welcomed to that portion of the civilized 
world, and treated with all the attention that flows from the warmest 
friendship, and the tenderest commiseration. The American Con- 
sul was also attentive to me, and he had previously paid attention to 
the wants of my companions in distress, who had arrived there from 
Mogadore by sea a few days before me. An acquaintance told me that 
Mr. Sprague had received Mr* Willshire's letter, informing him of my 
captivity, on one Monday morning at the moment of his return from 
Algeciras, a famous Spanish town on the opposite side of the bay, 
about ten miles from Gibraltar, where he generally spent the Sabbath ; 
that he opened the letter in the presence of, and read its contents to 
Mr. Henry, United States Consul, a Mr. Kennedy of Baltimore, and 
some other American gentlemen : that Mr. Henry suggested that a 
subscription should be opened andjsent up to all the Consuls in the 
Mediterranean, in order to raise money as soon as possible, and trans- 
mit it to Mogadore to release us : that Mr. Sprague made no answer 
whatever to this proposition, but sent a trusty young man out with 
orders to purchase two double-barrelled guns, while he hastily wrote a 
few lines to Mr. Willshire and myself, as before mentioned : that 
there was but one double-barrelled fowling-piece to be procured in the 
garrison ; this was bought at the price of eighty dollars, and taking it, 
together with his own, which was a very highly finished and favourite 
piece, he mounted his horse and proceeded as fast as possible to Al- 
geciras, carrying the guns along with him; from whence he immedi- 
ately despatched a courier to Tariffa with the guns and his letters, or- 
dering them to be sent by an express boat to Tangier, and to the care 
of Mr. Simpson, to be again forwarded by express to Mogadore. 
Such disinterested goodness, and such prompt and animated exertions 
to relieve a fellow-creature in distress, have seldom been recorded, and 
are above all praise : they are examples of pure benevolence, that do 
honour to human nature ; and ever honoured and beloved shall he be, 
who has the heart and the spirit to imitate them. 

Mr. Sprague had already paid the bills I had drawn on him in Mo- 
gadore for my ransom, &c. and he now furnished me with provisions 
and stores for my voyage home, I having determined to go by the first 
vessel for the United States. The ship liapid, of New-York, Captain 
Robert Williams, being in readiness to sail for that port, I embarked 
in her, acccompanied by Mr. Savage and Horace ; Clark, and Burnr, 
having been previously accommodated on board the ship Rolla, Cap- 
tain Brown, of Newburyport, that was to proceed to the United States 
by way of Cadiz. We set sail for our native country on the 2d of 
February, 1816, with a fair breeze, and on the 3d were safe without 
the straits. 

As Gibraltar has been so frequently mentioned in my narrative, a 
few descriptive observations respecting it may not be uninteresting to 
some of my readers. Gibraltar is situated at the entrance of the Me- 
diterranean sea, and is attached to the continent of Europe by a low 
and narrow neck of sandy land which, as it lies neither in Spain nor 
Gibraltar, is called the neutral ground. The rock appears to me to 
have been originally an island, and the beach or neutral ground to have 
been formed by the heaving up of sand and gravel from the Medite*- 
ranean sea on the one side, and from the bay of Gibraltar or the oth*« 



TRAVELS. 259 

The rock is about two miles in length from north to soutn, and one 
mile in breadth from east to west. It rises from the south point in 
abrupt cliffs, one above another, for about half a mile, when it comes 
to its extreme height, which is said by some to measure fourteen hun- 
dred feet, and by others, seventeen hundred feet from the surface ot 
the water : the top extends, in uneven craggy points, for about one 
mile to the northward, when it breaks offin one sudden cliff, which is 
nearly perpendicular, to the neutral ground, forming a face nearly as 
wide as the rock itself, and completely inaccessible. This rock forms 
probably the strongest fortress in Europe : it has been long in the 
hands of the English ; and is surmounted wkh batteries of heavy 
cannon in every direction, and is strongly walled in at every accessible 
point, so as to be considered impregnable. The western side of the 
rock, near its base, is more flatted and less inaccessible : here the town 
is built, which consists of about two thousand stone houses, and it is 
? said now to contain thirty thousand inhabitants, who may be said to 
compose a very heterogeneous mass ; for, as it is a free port, where the 
vessels and subjects of all nations who are at peace with England, 
enter with their goods, traffic and depart at pleasure, and are wholly 
free from governmental duties and impositions, people of all nations, 
tongues, and kindred, are there to be found. The bay is very spacious, 
and is capable of containing a vast number of shipping, which may 
ride in safety, except in heavy gales from the east or south. This 
fortress is held by the English government as a key, or rather a lock 
and key to the Mediterranean sea, the door of which the Moors and 
Spaniards consider as their property. Its garrison is composed of na- 
tive English troops, which, in time of war, ought to be seven thousand 
strong : it is commanded by a military governor, and is always under 
martial law. The British, with indefatigable industry, and immense 
labour, have formed roads up its steep western side, and constructed 
batteries, which are mounted with heavy artillery, on its very summit. 
Its eastern side is steep and inaccessible. In its northern side, next 
the neutral ground, but some hundred feet above it, excavations have 
been formed in the massy rock, in which heavy artillery is placed, and 
pointed through port-holes penetrating the solid front: these batteries 
completely command the land side, and are of course bomb proof— 
they are called the upper and lower galleries, and are of great extent. 
Among its natural curiosities, St. Michael's cave is the most remark- 
able : this commences near the top of the rock, and no bottom to it has 
ever yet been found by the English, though it has been explored 
(such is the popular story) for many miles, and the Moors have a 
notion that it forms a passage under the strait to the coast of Morocco. 
Thousands of monkeys also inhabit the summit and recesses of this 
singular and barren rock, but which in time of war is the emporium 
of the Mediterranean trade. 

After beating about for several days, near Cape St. Vincent, with 
heavy gales of wind from rhe westward, we steered to the southward 
into the latitude of Madeira, and I found that the reckonings of the 
officers on board were up fifty miles before we saw that island, Miough 
they had good opportunities to got meridian and other altitudes, which 
further confirmed me in the opinions 1 had already formed respecting 
the Gulf Stream, as elucidated in the Appendix. After passiDg Ma 
M2 



260 CAPTAIN RILEY'S NARRATIVE. 

deira, we made the best of our way into the latitude of the constant 
trade winds, say from 25 to 28 degrees, and ran down as far as about 
the longitude of 70° : then steered northward, and arrived in New- 
York on the 20th of March, 18J6, where 1 was received by my friends 
and fellow-citizens with demonstrations of joy and commiseration. 1 
hastened to JVliddletown, Connecticut, to visit my family, whom 1 
found in good health. Our meeting was one of those that language 
is inadequate to describe. I spent only a week with them, our hearts 
beating in unison, and swelling with gratitude to God for his mercies ; 
when what 1 owed to my friend Sprague, and the remainder of my 
fellow-sufferers, called me to the seat of government. On my arrival 
in Washington, [ was introduced by the rlon. Samuel W. Dana, Se- 
nator in Congress, to the Hon. James Monroe, Secretary of State, 
who received me in the most kind and feeling manner. The adminis- 
tration paid from the treasury my own and my crew's ransom, thus 
far, amounting to one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two dollars and 
forty-five cents, and assured me that provision should be immediately 
made to meet the amount that might be demanded for the remainder 
of the crew, should they ever be found alive. The Secretary, together 
with many distinguished members of both houses of Congress, ad- 
vised me to publish a Narrative of my late disasters, which I have 
faithfully performed, and shall now close my labours with a few brief 
remarks. 

1 have spent my days, thus far, amidst the bustle and anxieties in- 
cident to the life of a seaman and a merchant, and being now fully 
persuaded that the real wants of human nature are very few, and easily 
satisfied, I intend henceforth to remain, if it is God's will, in my na- 
tive country. 1 have been taught in the school of adversity to be 
contented with my lot, whatever future adversities I may have to en- 
counter, and shall endeavour to cultivate the virtues of charity and 
universal benevolence. I have drank deep of the bitter cup of suffer- 
ings and wo ; have been dragged down to the lowest depths of human 
degradation and wretchedness ; my naked frame exposed without 
shelter to the scorching skies and chilling night winds of the desart, 
enduring the most excruciating torments, and groaning, a wretched 
slave, under the stripes inflicted by the hands of barbarous monsters, 
bearing indeed the human form, but unfeeling, merciless, and malig- 
nant as demons ; yet when near expiring with my various and inex- 
pressible sufferings ; when black despair had seized on my departing 
soul, amid the agonies of the most cruel of all deaths, I cried to the 
Omnipotent for mercy, and the outstretched hand of Providence 
snatched me from the jaws of destruction. Unerring wisdom and 
goodness has since restored me to the comforts of civilized life, to the 
bosom of my family, and to the blessings of my native land, whose 
political and moral institutions are in themselves the very best of any 
that prevail in the civilized portions of the globe, and ensure to her 
citizens the greatest share of personal liberty, protection, and happi- 
ness ; and yet, strange as it must appear to the philanthropist, my 
proud-spirited and free countrymen still hold a million and a half, 
nearly, of the human species, in the most cruel bonds of slavery, many 
of whom are kept at hard labour and smarting under the savage lash of 
inhuman mercenary drivers, and in many instances enduring besides 






TRAVELS. 261 

the miseries of hunger, thirst, imprisonment, rold, nakedness, and 
even tortures. This is no picture of the imagination : for the honour 
of human nature 1 wish its likeness were indeed no whereto be found ; 
but 1 myself have witnessed such scenes in different parts of my own 
country, and th'e bare recollection now chills my blood with horror. 
Adversity has taught me some noble lessons : 1 have now learned to 
look with compassion on my enslaved and oppressed fellow-creatures ; 
1 will exert all my remaining faculties in endeavours to redeem the 
enslaved, and tc shiver in pieces the rod of oppression ; and 1 trust 1 
shall be aided in that holy work by every good and every pious free, 
and high-minded citizen in the community, and by the frienas of man- 
kind throughout the civilized world. 

The present situation of the slaves in our country ought to attract 
an uncommon degree of commiseration, and might be essentially 
ameliorated without endangering the public safety, or even causing 
the least injury to individual interest. J am far from being of opinion 
that they should all be emancipated immediately, and at once. 1 am 
aware that such a measure would not only prove ruinous to great num- 
bers of my fellow-citizens, who are at present slave holders, and to 
whom this species of property descended as an inheritance ; but that 
it would also turn loose upon the face of a free and happy country, a 
race of men incapable of exercising the necessary occupations of 
civilized life, in such a manner as to ensure to themselves an honest 
and comfortable subsistence ; yet it is my earnest desire that such a 
plan should be devised, founded on the firm basis and the eternal prin- 
ciples of justice and humanity, and developed and enforced by the 
general government, as will gradually, but not less effectually, wither 
and extirpate the accursed tree of slavery, that has been suffered to 
take such deep root in our otherwise highly-favoured soil : while, at 
the same time, it shall put it out ot the power of either the bond or 
the released sl?ves, or their posterity, ever to endanger our present oi 
future domestic pe< ce or oolitical tranquillity. 



APPENDIX 



Observations on the winds, currents, fyc. in some parts of the Atlantic 
icean, developing the causes of so many shipivrecks on the western 
coast of Africa — A mode vointed out for visiting the famous city oj 
Tombucioot, on the river Niger, fyc. 

Being safely at sea on board a good ship, and on my way to join my 
family, my mind was more tranquillized than it had before been since 
my redemption, and 1 turned my thoughts to the natural causes which 
had produced my late disaster. Upon taking a full view of the sub- 
ject, according to the best of my capacity, I felt convinced tnat not 
only my own vessel was driven on shore by a common current, but 
that most of the others that are known to have been wrecked from 
time to time on the same coast, have been operated upon by the same 
natural causes. In order briefly to illustrate my position, I shall be- 
gin by stating, that to men who are conversant with maritime affairs, 
and, particularly, practical navigators, who have for a number of years 
traversed the Atlantic ocean to Madera and the Canary Islands, the 
West Indies, or Cape de Verds ; who have sailed along the African 
coast — from thence southeastward towards the negro or Guinea settle- 
ments, and to those who have been accustomed to navigate towards the 
continent of South America, sailing along the coast of Brazil, and be- 
tween that coast and the west coast of Africa, and north of the Cape 
of Good Hope to the equator, it is well known that when sailing south- 
wardly from Europe near the coast of Africa, and in fact nearly across 
the northern Atlantic ocean, the trade winds, as they are called, set in 
and generally prevail, blowing from north to northeast or east, from 
about latitude 32. N. on the African coast ; — that farther westward, 
they only begin in the latitudes from 30. to 26. — in the last mentioned 
latitude near the coast of America. They generally blow from the 
northeast to the parallel of 23. of north latitude, when they turn more 
to the eastward as you gain the offing from the African continent. 
The coast of Africa from Cape Spartel, in latitude 34. 40. to Cape 
Blanco, in about latitude 33. tends about southwest, thence about 
south-southwest to Santa Cruz de Berberia, or Agader, the southern 
and westernmost port in the empire of Morocco, in about the latitude 
30. north, and longitude 10. west, from London — it then turns abrupt- 
ly off to the west-southwestward, to Cape Nun, and continues nearly 
the same course, about west-southwest, with little variation to Cape 
Bajador, about latitude 26. north, longitude 16. west. — The whole 
length of this coast the winds blow either diagonally, or directly on 
shore perpetually ; the reason of this I take to be, that the empire of 
Morocco west of the Atlas ridge of mountains is very dry and very hot, 



APPENDIX. 263 

having few rivers, and those very small during the greatest part of the 
year. There are no lakes of consequence, except one near Laresch, 
to cool the atmosphere, nor any showers of rain, except in winter, to 
refresh the thirsty earth. From Santa Cruz west, through what was 
formerly the kingdom of Suse, it blows right on shore, from the same 
causes operating in a stronger degree together, with a variation in the 
rending of the coast, and thence to Bajador, and along the coast of 
the great desart to the latitude of 17. north, and the trade wind con- 
tinues to haul round, and actually near the land blows eastward into 
the gulf of Guinea. This desart is scorched for about one half of the 
year by the rays of a vertical sun : here nature denies the refreshing 
rains that fall in other regions; the smooth even surface strongly re- 
flecting the rapid sun's beams, while there are no trees or other objects 
to intercept the rays and prevent the most powerful accumulation of 
solar heat, which consequently becomes so excessive during the day 
time that it scorches like fire, and the air you breathe seems like the 
dry and suffocating vapour from glowing embers : here the wind 
ceases in the day time, being literally consumed by the sun ; the 
whole surface thus becomes heated and baked in the day time, and 
when the sun disappears from above the horizon, the cooling wind 
rushes on to the desart from the ocean to restore the equilibrium of 
the atmosphere- 

The sea breeze begins about six o'clock in the evening, and conti- 
nues to increase gradually all along this coast until four o'clock in the 
morning, at which period it has risen to a strong gale, so that vessels 
navigating near the land are frequently forced to take in all their light 
sails by midnight, and to reef down snug before morning, when it be- 
gins to lull a little, and about mid-day becomes very moderate, and 
sometimes quite calm. Every practical man knows that the winds 
drive a current before them on the bosom of the ocean, as well as along 
its shores, that becomes more or less strong in proportion as the gale 
is light or heavy, and of long or short duration. On this coast the 
current sets before the wind against the shore — it there meets with 
unconquerable resistance, and is turned southward : it is always felt 
from about Cape Blanco, (lat. 33.) southward, and grows stronger and 
stronger until it passes Cape Bajador, because it is more and more 
compressed — thence it strikes off, one part to the southwest towards 
the Cape de Verd Islands, and the remainder keeps along the coast to 
Cape de Verd, whence it spreads itself towards the equator, and some 
part follows the windings of the coast round the gulf of Guinea. 

The southeast trade winds blow almost continually from the lati- 
tude of 30. south in the Atlantic ocean to the equator, and often to 
the 5th degree of northern latitude — these southeast trades assist those 
from the northeast in heaping up the water in the equatorial region, 
when both the northeast and southeast winds uniting, blow from the east- 
ward, bearing the whole mass of water on this surface towards the Ame- 
rican continent: it strikes that continent to the northward of Cape la 
Roque, between the parallels of 6 degrees south latitude and the equa- 
tor, on the coast of Brazil, where the coast turns to the westward ;— 
being much compressed, it runs strongly along this coast to the mouth 
of the mighty river Amazon, with whose current it is united and borne 
down along the coast of Cayenne, Surinam, and Guyanna, receiving 



264 APPENDIX. 

in its way all the waters brought against those coasts by the consian* 
trade winds from the east and northeast, and all the great rivers which 
flow in from the soutnward, among which is the Oronoko, one of the 
longest on the continent of South America, and that rolls, in the 
rainy season, an immense body of water to the ocean : I have 
ascended that river five hundred miles. The current runs so strong at 
times towards the west along this whole line of coast, (which is mostly 
low land, and has principally been made on the seaboard by the 
alluvial qualities of the waters in the rivers, brought down by freshes, 
which are then thick with mud, like those of the Mississippi,) as to 
render it impossible for any vessel to get to the windward or eastward 
by beating against the wind and current. Its velocity has been known 
to exceed three miles an hour. This great current is driven westward 
along the coast between it and the West India Islands, a great part ol 
it entering the Gult of Paria, south of the Island of Trinidad, where it 
receives and is strengthened by the waters of the western branch of the 
Oronoko river; — here the high land, that evidently joined this island 
to the continent formerly, has been burst asunder, perhaps indeed 
assisted by an earthquake, or some other convulsion of nature: there 
are here several passages for the current, 1 think four, (for I write 
entirely from memory,) through the same mountain, which is of an 
equal height on the islands and on the continent, and the fragments of 
rocks which have been torn out and rolled away by this tremendous 
shock or current leave no doubt in the mind of the beholder of the 
reality of such an event. The widest passage is not more than two 
miles over ; the narrowest not more than one fourth of a mile : these 
passages are called by the Spaniards, who first explored and settled 
that par' of the country, (as well as the Island of Trinidad, i. e. 
Trinity,) Las Bocas del Dragon, or the Dragons' Mouths. This 
body of water rushes through these passages with such force, that it 
is next to impossible, at times, for a fast sailing vessel to enter against 
the current, with a strong trade wind in her favour, and I have known 
many vessels bound to Trinidad, obliged to bear up and try for 
the Leeward Islands, and scarcely able to fetch Hispaniola or 
Jamaica. This, with what passes northward of Trinidad, is pent in 
and forced against the Spanish coast of Terra Firma, following its 
windings round the Bay of Honduras to Cape Catoche: by the con- 
stant trade winds which blow from the N. E. to east, they are then 
driven through between that Cape and Cape St. Antonio, or the west- 
ern part of the Island of Cuba, into the Gulf of Mexico. From the 
similarity in the appearance of Cape Catoche and Cape St. Antonio, 
the lowness of the land on both sides, the gtrait that divides them being 
only about sixty miles wide, and the fact of soundings being round 
nearly or quite across the channel, it has been thought, and with 
every probability of truth in its favour, that the Island of Cuba was 
once attached to this point of the continent, and the waters heaped up 
by the foregoing causes in that great bay south of Cuba, at some 
remote period broke over the low sandy land, tore it down, and formed 
for themselves a free passage into the great gulf of Mexico. 

The circumstance of the Island of Cuba stretching nearly east and 
west about seven hundred miles in length, and in many places very 
high, with the well known fact of the powerful currents already men 



FPENDIX 265 

tioned setting it upon the coast south and west of it, and the constant 
easterly winds that prevail on its southern side, leaves very little room 
to doubt that these strong trade winds, opposing the passage of the 
current up the south side of that once vast peninsula, have raised 
them to such a pitch that they have formed a channel for themselves, 
This immense mass of water, thus forced into the Bay of Mexico, 
runs to the N. W. to its northern border, and strikes that shore a few 
leagues west of the Mississippi river's mouth — thence taking a circulai 
direction round south towards Vera Cruz and along the south coast 
of the gulf, seems to lose itself near where it entered at Cape Catoche. 
In sailing in the Gulf of Mexico, you meet with whirlpools and very 
strong currents in every part of it, sometimes setting one way, and 
sometimes another ; the gulf being of a circular form, there is no cer- 
tainty in the currents. During the summer months it is visited by 
the most dreadful squalls of thunder and lightning, and by water- 
spouts that have often destroyed vessels. Storms or hurricanes are 
also very frequent, and calms of a month or two often occur : here 
that astonishing body of water is joined by that of all the rivers that 
empty into the gulf, particularly those borne down by that father of 
rivers, the Mississippi ; — thus accumulated and become much higher 
in the Bay of Mexico than in any other part of the Atlantic ocean, it 
forces its way eastward between Cape Florida and the northern side 
of the Island of Cuba, until meeting the great bank of Bahama in its 
front, with its numerous keys and rocks, it ia turned nothwardly 
along the coast of Florida. Its velocity there in the narrowest part, 
where it is only about forty miles wide, has been ascertained (and, 
indeed, I have known it myself) to exceed five miles an hour at some 
particular seasons. After leaving this narrow passage, it keeps its 
course northwardly, spreading a little as it proceeds, until it strikes 
soundings off Savannah and Charleston — the coast then narrows in its 
western edge again until it approaches Cape Hattcias, where the stream 
is not more than fifty miles broad, and frequently runs with almost as 
great rapidity as between the Bahama Bank and Florida shore. From 
Cape Hatteras its course is N. E. to the shoals off Nantucket Island 
and George's Bank, where its velocity is about two miles an hour; 
these obstructions give it a more easterly direction, until it strikes 
the Great Bank of Newfoundland in the latitude of 42. N. or there- 
abouts : here it meets with the resistance of the bank, and is turned 
by it to the E. S. E. There is in this part of the ocean a cur- 
rent which perpetually sets from the northwa/d, south-eastwardly 
along the coast of Newfoundland ; it is this current which brings 
from the coast of Labrador and Hudson's Straits the islands of ice 
that are so often met withJby ships on and about the grand Newfound 
land Bank in the first part of the summer, ami which have proved 
fatal to so many ships and their crews : the appearance of these islands 
proves beyond a possibility of doubt the existence of that current 
which pressing upon, is joined to that of the Gulf Stream, and the 
whole sets away together towards the Azores, or Western Islands, a 
the rate of from one to two and a half miles an hour : — this current is 
feit by all vessels bound from thetmted States to the Western Islands 
and Madeira, or the Canaries, that sail in the p?*allels of the Azores, 
which all those vessels bound to Madeira, the Canaries, or the coast 



266 APPENDIX. 

of Spiin and Portugal, and the Mediterranean sea, generally do 
Those vessels that make the Western Islands, when bound to Europe 
generally feel it until they lose sight of those islands ; when in stand- 
ing away for the northern or central ports of Europe, they feel it no 
more, and it has therefore generally been thought to lose itself near 
the Azores, in the ocean. This is a mistake — for it continues its » 
course for the coast of Africa, making no account of the island of 
Madeira, though the most of it passes northward of that island in a 
southeasterly direction, and strikes the African continent from Cape 
Blanco to the latitude of 29° north. When it comes near this coast, 
it is again contracted as it feels the effects of the trade winds near 
the coast, and rushes forward at times with great velocity against the 
coast between Cape Blanco and the island of Lanzarote, the north- 
ern and easternmost of the Canary Islands, being attracted, as it 
were, by the vacuum occasioned by the trade winds and currents 
which have been before noticed, and which have in a measure drained 
the waters from the coast, and the continuation of the Gulf Stream 
increasing in velocity, restores the waters nearly to their former level, 
which still are kept rolling along before the wind, against and along ' 
the coast towards the equator, and are again driven by the same 
causes to the coast of America into the Gulf of Mexico and back 
again, in what is usually termed the Gulf Stream, to the coast of 
West and South Barbary, making their continual round. Ships 
bound from Europe, say England, France, Holland, &c. to the West 
Indies, the Cape de Verd Islands, the coast of Guinea, Brazils, or 
India voyages, or to the west coast of America, generally steer south- 
ward along the coast of Portugal, until they cross the mouth of the 
straits of Gibraltar, where if they meet with southerly winds they 
are drawn towards the coast of Africa by a small indraught setting to- 
wards the strait, where a current always runs in ; for the waters of 
the rivers which empty into the Mediterranean sea are not sufficient 
to supply the loss from evaporations rendered necessary in order to 
moisten in some measure the parched earth and sand on its southern 
border, and to cool the heated atmosphere, and support by dews the 
scanty vegetation on the coast, during the greater part of the year, 
where no rain falls except a little in winter ; so that the surface of the 
Mediterranean sea is always lower than that of the adjoining Atlantic 
The same causes, viz. great evaporations, tend also to reduce the 
quantity of water in the open ocean near the west coast of Africa, and 
particularly that part bordering on the desart, where very little or no 
rain ever falls, and the smooth surface of which, baked almost as hard 
as stone by the heat of a vertical sun, is during the night in some de- 
gree refreshed by the strong winds and vapours which come from the 
sea, as before noticed. These reasons, together with the facts, which 1 
have before stated, demonstrate to my understanding, satisfactorily, 
that in the offing all along this coast, the water must incline towards 
it, contrary to any general principle of currents ; and this is proved, 
if any doubt did exist, by the vast number of vessels that have from 
time to time been wrecked on these wild and inhospitable shores, gene- 
rally near Cape Nun, and from thence to Cape Bajador, and as far 
south as Cape de Verd. Ships from Europe, bound round the south 
ern capes of Africa and America, generally stop at Madeira or Tene 



APPENDIX. 267 

-ifFe for refreshments, and are not unfrequently obliged to run for Ma- 
deira after they get in its latitude, and their reckoning by account is 
up one, and sometimes two degrees westward before they find that 
island ; when, had they kept on the courses which they would natural- 
ly have steered to reach Teneriffe, they would have been sucked or 
drawn in by the current between Lanzarote and Cape Cantin, and 
driven ashore near Cape Nun, before they could suspect they had 
reached the latitude of that island, and in the firm belief that they 
were near the longitude of Teneriffe, and consequently two hundred 
and fifty miles from the coast where they in fact are, and where no 
human effort can save them from either perishing in the sea, or be- 
coming slaves to the Bereberies, Moors, or Arabs, who inhabit this 
country. Most merchant vessels steer courses that ought to carry 
them within sight of the Canary Islands when bound to the southward, 
or from the strait of Gibraltar; they generally experience a southerly 
current after passing the latitude of Cape Blanco, and have a fair wind 
when near the coast, with thick hazy weather, so that they cannot 
get an altitude of the sun : this is a sure sign they are in the southeast 
current, over which hangs a vapour similar to that observed over the 
Gulf Stream near the American continent, and when these portending 
signs occur, they should stand directly off W. N. W. or N. W. until 
they reach the longitude of Madeira, and never pass the latitude of 
Teneriffe or Palma, without seeing one of them. Near these Islands 
the atmosphere is more clear, and they can be seen from sixty to one 
hundred miles distant in clear weather. I am particular in advising 
■.hose ship-masters who are bound that way, by all means to make the 
island of ^Madeira ; it takes them but a little out of their route, and 
from whence they will be sure of making Teneriffe or Palma, in steer- 
ing the regular courses, when by due precaution against indraughts 
southward of those islands, they avoid the dangers of this terrible 
coast, and the dreadful sufferings or deaths which await all that are 
so unfortunate as to be wrecked on them : I have learned from a long 
experience in trading and navigating from Europe as well as America, 
to the Madeira and Canary Islands, to the coast of Brazil and South 
America in general, thence northward across the southern Atlantic, 
all along the coast of Guyanna and Terra Firma, from the river Ama- 
zon to the Bay of Honduras, through the passages between Trinidad 
and the Main, Cape Catoche and the island of Cuba — in the gulf of 
Mexico, and in the Mississippi river, to Cuba ; — through the Gulf 
Stream backwards and forwards — along the coasts of Florida to and 
from different ports in the United States, thence to and from all the 
West India islands, and to and from almost every pai of Europe, and 
I can assert, without fear of contradiction from any practical man, that 
the particular currents lhave here mentioned do in reality exist in all 
those parts of the ocean. I have endeavoured to find out their causes, 
and now give the reader those 1 judge to be the correct ones. 1 pre- 
sume no man ever took more pains to examine and ascertain the tacts 
on which this theory is founded; having tried the currents whenever 
I had an opportunity, in different parts of the Atlantic, and very few 
men have had better opportunities : how far 1 have succeeded, must 
.lereafter be determined. 
When I toDk my departure from Cape Spartel, bound to the Cap* 






268 APPENDIX. 

de Verd Islands, on my iast voyage, 1 steered W. N. W. by compass, 
until that Cape bore E. S. E. distant four or five leagues, to give the 
coast a good birth ; then I shaped my course W. S. VV. and took 
caie to have the vessel always steered her course — she was a very fast 
sailer, and steered extremely easy, and what little she did vary from 
her course was to the westward : we had a constant fair wind, and 
generally a good breeze, and were only three days northward of the 
Canary Islands. I had frequently tried the compasses on the outward 
bound passage, and found them to be correct, their variation being no 
more than is generally calculated, i. e. nearly two points about the 
straits of Gibraltar ; I therefore made all the allowance 1 could sup- 
pose necessary, and my courses steered ought to have carried my ves- 
sel to the westward of TenerhTe ; but 1 was near the coast, and the 
indraught so strong, setting at the rate of at least two miles an hour 
E. S. E. or two and a half ' S. E. that my vessel was carried by it out 
of her course in three days nearly two hundred miles directly east 
broadside towards Africa, and she must have entered the passage 
between Lanzarote and Fuertaventura (the easternmost of the Canaries) 
and the coast of Africa, and so far from the islands that we could not 
discover them, though the island of Fuertaventura is very high. The 
current here ran more to the south, sweeping my vessel along with 
great rapidity towards Cape Nun and the coast— but my course being 
so far westward, I was carried by the help of the current, which is 
turned by the coast to S. W. near to the pitch of CapeBajador, before 
I could suppose it was possible that we were near it, and having been 
carried in three days one hundred and twenty miles of latitude. 

Of the great number of vessels wrecked on this part of the coast, 
very few get as far down ; almost all go on shore near Cape Nun, and 
before they believe themselves in the latitude of Lanzarote, being 
drawn in by this fatal current and indraught, when they think they are 
far to the westward, and are many times on the look-out for Teneriffe. 
The weather is always extremely thick and foggy along this coast 
within the vortex of this current. If the crews of vessels, even in the 
day time, discover land to leeward, westward of Santa Cruz de Berbe- 
ria, as it tends in some places nearly east and west, having always a 
strong wind, swell, and current, right on shore, and a tremendous sea 
rolling on, it is next to impossible for the fastest sailer to escape total 
destruction by running on shore, where the crew must either miserably 
perish in the sea, starve to death after tending, be massacred by, or 
become slaves to the ferocious inhabitants, the most savage race ot 
men, perhaps, to be found in the universe. These barbarians know 
and obey no law but their own will; their avarice alone sometimes 
prompts them to save the lives of their fellow mortals when in the deep- 
est distress, in the hope of gaining by the sale, the labour, or the future 
ransom of their captives, whom, they say, God has placed in their 
hands as a reward for some of their virtues or good actions; and it is 
a sacred duty they owe to themselves, as well as to the Supreme 
Being, to make the most they can by them. Not less than six Ameri- 
can vessels are known to have been lost on this part of the coast since 
the year 1800, besides numbers of English, French, Spanish, Portu- 
guese, &c. which are also known to have been wrecked there, and no 
doubt many other vessels that never have been heard from— but it ia 



APPENDIX. 26y 

enly Americans and Englishmen that are ever heard from after th# 
first news of the shipwreck. The French, Spanish, Portuguese, and 
Italian governments, it is said, seldom ransom their unfortunate ship- 
wrecked subjects, and they are thus doomed to perpetual slavery and 
misery — no friendly hand is ever stretched forth to relieve their dis- 
tresses and to heal their bleeding wounds, nor any voice of humanity 
to sooth their bitter pangs ; till worn out with sufferings indescribable, 
they resign their souls to the God who gave them, and launch into 
the eternal world with pleasure, as death is the only relief from theii 
sufferings. 

1 cannot omit to inform my readers, that on the 1st of January, 1816 
when in Mogadore, I went in company with Mr. Willshire, to pay a 
complimentary visit to Don Estevan Leonardi, an old man, a Genoese 
by birth, who had lived a long time in Mogadore — he has, I was inform 
en, exercised the functions of French Vice-Consul therefor a numbei 
of years — he received us with the compliments of the season; congratu 
luting me coldly on my redemption from slavery; inquired some par- 
ticulars, &c. &c. after which, and when we had refreshed ourselves 
with a glass of wine, he told me, that "about the years 1810, 11, he 
received a long letter from Suse, brought to him by an Arab, written 
by a Frenchman : this stated that the writer and another Frenchman, 
whom he named, had escaped from a prison in Teneriffe a few weeks 
previously, where they had been long confined as prisoners of war , 
that they stole an open boat in the night, and set sail in the hope of 
escaping from the Spaniards, who had treated them with great harsh- 
ness and cruelty ; that they steered to the eastward, expecting to 
land on the coast of Morocco, where they trusted they might regain 
their liberty, and get home through the aid of the French Con- 
suls ; that they made the coast of Suse, and landed a few leagues 
below Santa Cruz or Agader, after great sufferings and hardships, 
where they were seized on as slaves, and stripped naked ; and the. 
letter concluded by begging of him to ransom them, and thus save 
the lives of two unfortunate men, who must otherwise soon perish, 
&c. &c. — but said Leonardi, 1 had no orders from the Consul-Gene- 
ral to expend money on account of his government, and accordingly 
persuaded the Arab who brought the letter to stop with me a few days 
— his price was two hundred dollars for the two, and he was their sole 
proprietor. In the mean time I sent off a courier express to Tangier, 
for orders from the Consul-General, who returned at the end of thirty- 
five days, with leave to pay one hundred dollars a man for them, but 
no other expenses. The Arab stayed fifteen days with me, and then 
returned home in disgust; he could not believe 1 would ransom them, 
as I did not do it immediately ; but when my express returned from 
Tangier, giving me leave to buy them, 1 sent a Jew down with the 
money to pay their ransom, but when he came to their master, he 
would not sell them at his former price, for he said he had found 
them to be mechanics, and demanded three hundred dollars for ihe 
two, or one hundred and fifty dollars each. The Jew said he saw the 
men; they were naked, hard at work, and appeared to be much 
exhausted, very miserable, and dejected : — he might have bought one 
for one hundred and fifty dollars, but would not, as he had no" orders 
to lo so. When the Jew was about to return, their master told him ii 



270 APlaNDlX. 

ne went away without the men, and the Consul wanted them, he nro»* 

Say four hundred dollars for them: — now on the Jew's arrival ai 
logadore with this news, (continued Leonardi,) I sent off another 
express to Tangier, who brought back leave to pay the four hundred 
dollars, at the same time cautioned me not to make any further ex- 
penses on their account. I sent down the four hundred dollars to Suse 
again, and ordered the messenger to buy one, if he could not get 
both ; but their master said he had been played with and deceived 
until that time ; that if I wanted them, 1 must pay Jive hundred dollars, 
and that he would then escort them up to Swearah, and be answerable 
for their safety until they arrived there, but he would not take the 
four hundred dollars, nor would he separate them; and so the mes- 
senger returned without them. 1 have expended (said he) about two 
hundred dollars that I shall never get again, and I suppose the men 
are dead, as 1 have not heard from them since." This, if not in the 
precise words, was the substance of what he said, and I could scarcely 
suppress the indignation I felt at this recital, nor avoid contrasting 
the behaviour of this man with that of my noble friend Willshire. 
This old man is very rich ; has no family but himself, and is one of 
the most zealous Christians, in professions at least, in Barbaiy ; out a 
sordid wretch, who never knew the pleasure arising from the con- 
sciousness of having done a good deed, in my opinion. 

While I remained at Mogadore, a schooner arrived there, as 1 nave 
before observed, from Gibraltar: she was a Genoese vessel, but 
sailed under English colours, as the king of Sardinia was at war 
with all the Barbary powers, or at least they were at war with him : 
the captain, officers, and crew, were Genoese and Spaniards. She 
had been more than twenty days on her passage from Gibraltar, 
having been carried by the current down the coast below Santa Cruz 
or Agader. The captain told me he must inevitably have gone ashore 
near Cape Nun, had not God in his mercy favoured him with a south 
wind, out of the usual course of nature, on that coast, when he was 
close to the land : he had been beating for three days against the trade 
wind, nearing the coast every day, and could not fetch off either way, 
though his vessel was a fast sailer, and only in ballast trim. He 
arrived at Mogadore about the 1st of December, after the wind had 
been blowing strong, with some rain from the south, for four days : it 
is only in December and January that these winds occur, and always 
bring a storm with them, either of wind or rain : this schooner was 
the vessel in which my second mate and three men went round from 
Mogadore to Gibraltar. 

As the geography of that part of Africa lying in the equatorial le- 
gions eastward of that extensive ridge of mountains which borders its 
western coast from the latitude 18. N. to the Congo river, and west- 
ward of the Mountains of the Moon, in which the Nile has its sources, 
has excited much speculation and interest in the learned world, (though 
it does not come strictly within my province,) 1 will, nevertheless, 
make a few brief observations on the practicability of exploring 
those hitherto unknown countries, in the hope that they may hereafter 
be useful. And first, it is my decided opinion, that no European or 
civilized armed force, however large or well appointed, can ever 
penetrate far into the interior of these wild and dismal recesses bv 



APPENDIX. 271 

and, either from the snores of the Atlantic ocean, or the Mediterranean 
sea ; because an army on such an expedition, would not only have to 
encounter powerful hosts of savage enemies at every turn, and undergo 
the severest privations, fatigues, and hardships, but would besides 
have to encounter the raging heat of this scorching climate, surpassing 
any thing they may ever have experienced, and the pestilential dis- 
orders incident thereto : — these circumstances taken together, could 
scarcely fail to produce its total annihilation in a short period, and 
thus frustrate the boldest and best planned military attempt. — Indivi- 
dual bravery, enterprise, skill, and prudence, in the ordinary way, 
Dy travelling unprotected, are also, in my opinion, entirely unequal 
to the task, and such enterprises must, I think, always prove abortive. 
Something might, perhaps, be done by black travellers, natives of 
that country, tutored expressly for that purpose, and sent off singly 
from different stations and on different routes; but owing to their con- 
fined education, and particular train of ideas, nothing very valuable 
could be expected from their researches. Steam-Boats, strongly built, 
and of a suitable construction, well armed and appointed, might ascend 
the river Congo, (which 1 am induced from many considerations to 
believe is the outlet of the river Niger,) and traffic up that river, and 
other rivers, making important discoveries ; but the whole of their of- 
ficers, as well as all the men employed on board them, should first be 
inured to such climates, and be persons accustomed to fatigues, priva 
tions, hardships, and sufferings ; and, above all, should be guided by thf 
greatest degree of human prudence. A plain and very simple method 
for visiting Tombuctoo in safety, and returning again, might be pointed 
out by either the American or English Consuls residing at Tangier, 
Algiers, Tunis, or Tripoli ; — to accomplish this journey, the travel- 
ler, after being qualified, knowing the Arabic language, and being duly 
circumcised, has only to become a slave by his own consent, and a 
secret understanding with his hired master ; being bargained away bv 
the Consul to one of the principal merchants trading to that city in 
the yearly caravans, and who might be induced to enter into the pro- 
ject for an ample remuneration. 



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